Heruela proves capable of grabbing spotlight for Beermen

MANILA. Philippines — Brian Heruela only wanted to shake off the bitter taste of bad news.

Neck-and-neck against GlobalPort on Wednesday night, he did it. And he did it with much gusto.  Filling the void left by a sidelined Alex Cabagnot,

Heruela scored 17 points to help the San Miguel Beermen shake off their foes.

"It was bad news, cause Alex is a major part of the team,” the stocky guard said. "Guys off the bench — we just stay ready and step up to the challenge.”

Heruela added five dimes and six steals in his service off the bench, drawing praises from his mentor and his teammates.

"I’m so happy tonight because of my players off the bench especially Heruela. Talagang inagaw niya 'yung show kay June Mar and then kay Arwind (Santos) saka kay Marcio Lassiter,” Leo Austria with a chuckle.

"We know that Brian can do that. He's capable of playing huge for us and he showed it tonight. He played off the bench and he was just incredible and he showed it tonight. I'm proud of him,” Lassiter added.

Fajardo, who played alongside the guard in their days at University of Cebu wasn’t surprised with Heruela’s showing.

“‘Yung aggressiveness niya, 'yung hustle nandoon pa rin. Since noong college days namin ‘yon,” the four-time MVP added.

"Kulang lang talaga sa kanya 'yung minutes pero lagi naman siyang ready, lagi kaming nag-uusap sa praktis na ready lang siya. Nagpapakundisyon naman siya so nakikita naman ni coach, so ginamit siya,” Fajardo added.

And with Cabagnot out for three to four weeks due to plantar facitis, Heruela said that’s more of a challenge than as a reason to celebrate.

"Not just specifically for me but to all of the guys. We are always ready and we have to step up to the challenge. It's a big void that Alex left so hopefully, we can able to cover it up until he gets back,” he closed.