Austria: Injuries, ailment affecting Beermen's preparations
October 5, 2015 | 11:07pm
MANILA, Philippines – With less than two weeks left before the opening of the PBA’s 41st season, San Miguel Beer is dealing with a spate of injuries and ailments.
The Beermen opened training camp a month ago, but San Miguel coach Leo Austria admitted the team has yet to practice with the full complement of a healthy lineup.
The two-time PBA champion coach said gunner Marcio Lassiter has been dealing with a hamstring injury as of late, while backup Fil-Am guard Chris Ross is not yet 100 percent due to a knee problem he sustained in last season’s Governors Cup.
Youthful slotman June Mar Fajardo, on the other hand, got sick over the weekend, while veteran forward Arwind Santos failed to practice the past week due to fever and sore throat.
“Hopefully this week, maka-recover na sila (Beermen). We can’t afford na magka-injuries pa lahat kasi hindi kami kumpleto,” Austria told Philstar.com Tuesday.
San Miguel did boost its backcourt with the addition of veteran guard Ryan Arana, but Austria said the arrival of the left-handed former Rain or Shine stalwart via trade doesn’t mean anything at this point.
“Medyo out of shape pa talaga kami dahil ang daming mga injuries at nagkakasakit ang mga players,” explained the 56-year-old San Miguel bench tactician, whose team also had to deal with occasional disruptions in practice owing to San Miguel Corp.’s 125-year anniversary celebration as well as the month-long ‘Oktoberfest’ promotions.
“Marami pa kaming mga activities na pinupuntahan saka Oktoberfest. And then, anniversary din ng San Miguel at 125 years, kaya kailangan kami lagi dun. So medyo nadi-disrupt ang program namin,” he added.
Nonetheless, Austria is pushing through with the team’s offseason buildup by playing Alaska on Wednesday, before taking on the Star Hotshots on Saturday.
“Gusto ko kasi makita namin kung anong level na narating namin after four weeks,” said the native of Sariaya, Quezon, whose team finished last season with the best season record of 37 wins in 54 games.
San Miguel remains the yardstick and the the team to beat this coming season, owing to its two championships last season, including the Philippine Cup.
But Austria stressed that the Beermen’s back-to-back championship aspirations in the All-Filipino will be put to test because Talk ‘N Text already beefed up its roster in the offseason by adding the top two rookie picks Moala Tautuaa and Troy Rosario.
Sister team Barangay Ginebra also made a move by bringing in all-time winning coach Tim Cone. The Gin Kings likewise, built their roster by acquiring Joe Devance and Nico Salva through trades.
The Gin Kings also added rookies Scottie Thompson and Aljon Mariano into the mix.
Austria also ranked Alaska, Star and Rain or Shine high in the pre-season rankings.
“Mixed emotions dahil kami ang magde-defend at marami nagsasabi, contender pa rin kami. Pero almost all the teams nag-beef up na ng lineups nila,” explained the former PBA Rookie of the Year.
San Miguel will play GlobalPort on October 25 in Davao, just a week after the opening of the 2016 PBA season.
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