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San Miguel's CJ Perez (77)
(PBA Images)
MANILA, Philippines -- Frustrations of the past conference is the main motivation for the San Miguel Beermen in the PBA Philippine Cup.
The Beermen failed to make the playoffs in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, the first time in a decade.
But now, in the All-Filipino conference, they started off with a huge 98-89 win over the NLEX Road Warriors Saturday evening.
After Saturday’s game, San Miguel guard CJ Perez said that it was “really frustrating” to miss the playoffs int he import-laden conference.
“First time yata na di ako pumasok nung simula nag-San Miguel. And yeah, naging motivation talaga sa amin, we’ve been practicing for four weeks. Prinactice talaga namin,” he told reporters.
“Pinaghandaan namin, talagang nagpakondisyon kami, nag-focus kami sa defense, kung ano yung kailangan naming gawin,” he added.
He stressed that there is no one to blame but the team for their disappointing finish last time around.
But now, they have a chance to bounce back stronger.
“Yun nga, yung last conference, wala kaming sisisihin. Sa team talaga yun and nagkulang kami pero ngayon we have the chance na bumawi this conference.”
The Beermen had a record of 5-7 in the Commissioner’s Cup as they failed to defend their title.
Four different imports suited up for the squad, as they could not gel in time.
For his part, San Miguel head coach Leo Austria said that the low motivation, and the subpar performances of the imports, took their toll on their campaign last season, but he reiterated that “it is not an excuse.”
“It's a learning process for us. But this time, which is the All-Filipino, everybody thinking na this is our conference, but I told them, don't be complacent. Although we won a lot of championships in the All-Filipino in the last decade, it's not a guarantee we could get a win easily,” he said.
“As I said, there are a lot of teams looking forward for this championship because that is a very prestigious conference.”
The Beermen will try to make it two in a row as they face the defending champions of the Philippine Cup, the Meralco Bolts, on Wednesday.
