Austria leans on SMB’s experience

MANILA, Philippines - San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria is banking on championship experience as he attempts to capture a second straight PBA title in the Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven Finals against TNT starting at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight.

Austria, 59, has won four crowns in seven conferences so far and is unbeaten in four Finals appearances since piloting San Miguel to the Philippine Cup throne in 2014-15. Three of his four titles came at Alaska’s expense while he clinched the other over Barangay Ginebra in the previous Philippine Cup. This time, he’s up against Nash Racela who’s in his second conference with TNT as head coach.

In the last Philippine Cup, San Miguel beat TNT, 4-3, in the best-of-seven semifinals but the KaTropa played without injured Jayson Castro in the Game 7 clincher which the Beermen took, 96-83. This conference, TNT defeated San Miguel, 112-103, in the elimination round despite import Charles Rhodes’ 43 points as JuneMar Fajardo, Castro and Troy Rosario sat out while on Gilas duty.

“We understand and know how to win,” said Austria. “I think it will be a long series but it won’t be a disadvantage or advantage to us. Every game is different and important. You can go up or down. The outcome will depend on which team is able to make the right adjustments and the players’ desire and determination to win.”

Austria said his three priorities in the Finals are to stop TNT’s transition attack, defend the perimeter and contain KaTropa import Joshua Smith. He singled out Castro as the man to mark in halting TNT’s running game. “Jayson dictates their tempo and controls the team,” he said. “He didn’t play against us in Game 7 of the last Philippine Cup semifinals and also didn’t play in our elimination game. We saw what he did in Game 4 of the semifinals against Ginebra – he scored 38 points. We have to find a way to limit Jayson. We can’t also afford TNT to get hot from the outside so we’ll defend the perimeter closely. Finally, we’ve got to slow down Smith. How to do it is a challenge.”

Austria said San Miguel could be pushed to the limit. “TNT has a strong lineup and is a championship-caliber team,” he said. “We’re lucky we were in a different bracket in the semifinals. They have a deep bench. Since this is a best-of-seven series, I’m planning to use a rotation of nine or 10 players. We won’t try to outrun TNT. We’ll play a deliberate game. But if there’s an opportunity to score in transition, we’ll take it. Chris (Ross) has the ability to force turnovers and that gives us the chance to fastbreak. We attribute that to our defense.”

This conference, five San Miguel players are averaging at least 30 minutes a game compared to none for TNT, indicating a short rotation for the Beermen. “We’ve talked about our rotation,” said Austria. “We sub depending on the situation. We give two to three minutes to our reserves but if they don’t contribute, we go back to our key players because we don’t want them to lose their rhythm. Everyone has to be prepared. In the NBA, key players average 40 minutes during the playoffs. Take Charles and JuneMar. When we sit them down, there’s a drop off in our production so we can’t really afford to keep them out for a long period. Charles plays the four position and averages about 35 minutes so that leaves little time left for Arwind (Santos) and Gabby (Espinas).”

Austria said Santos has adjusted to his role as a sixth man. “Arwind is sacrificing,” he said. “He can also play three but we use him to relieve Charles so we don’t lose too much when he’s sitting down. Arwind is still averaging 25 minutes so he’s getting two quarters of playing time. He’s very valuable to our team. Alex (Cabagnot) and Chris are also contributing in a big way. They have a great give-and-take relationship. Alex now seldom plays point guard because we need him at the two position to score. Both Alex and Chris are in excellent condition and they’re hungry for another title. Marcio (Lassiter) plays three in our starting lineup and gives us a deadly option on offense.” 

 Austria said playing Rhodes and Fajardo together is a huge advantage. He likened the Twin Towers to the San Antonio Spurs’ legendary twosome David Robinson and Tim Duncan. “Charles is a perfect fit for us, a big complement,” he said. “He doesn’t demand the ball, he just plays his role. He respects his teammates and appreciates what they do.”