Leo Austria says Beermen self-motivated to win

MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria isn’t worried about getting the Beermen pumped up for the PBA Philippine Cup best-of-7 Finals against Magnolia starting at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tomorrow. “They’re self-motivated,” said Austria. “They know how to win. They work hard. They want to give back to management for all the support they get. We owe everything to management, the fans and our families.”

Austria, 60, said every road to the championship is a different journey with different challenges. “They’re all meaningful,” he said. “I’ll never forget the way we fought back from 0-3 against Alaska to win the 2015-16 Philippine Cup. Then, last season, we beat Ginebra in the Finals to win our third straight Philippine Cup title. This conference is different from the others. It’s become emotional for me.”

Austria broke down when he related that his wife of 30 years, Nanette, underwent a delicate kidney transplant on the day San Miguel disposed of TNT, 106-93, in the quarterfinals last March 6. The Beermen had a twice-to-beat advantage against TNT but took care of business without a second game. It’s been over two weeks since the procedure and Austria is coping with his wife’s guarded condition.

“Nanette has to be isolated for at least six months because her immune system is down and there can be no risk of infection as her body adjusts to the new kidney,” he said. “We moved her to the second floor of my in-laws’ home in PhilAm Life. The entire floor was cleared out so it’s like she’s quarantined with no visitors allowed. We used to live in my in-laws’ home. Now, our family lives on Commonwealth but our house isn’t big enough for a room to be isolated for Nanette. We’re grateful to everyone who has supported us through this. We’re thankful to Dr. Joy Cobankiat, a nephrologist who’s the wife of (ex-PBA player) Rommel Adducul. A team of 10 to 12 doctors attended to Nanette during her surgery which took about three hours at St. Luke’s Global City.”

Austria said he draws strength from his three children – Bacon, 29, Lea, 28, and Jed, 23. Bacon is with the coaching staff of the Ateneo Blue Eaglets and also a San Miguel practice player. He saw action for Blackwater in the PBA. Lea is a teacher while Jed just graduated from college. Bacon and Jed went to Ateneo while Lea finished at La Salle.

While Austria is focused on San Miguel defending the Philippine Cup crown, the team is also setting its sights on the Commissioner’s Cup which opens April 21. Import Troy Gillenwater, 29, arrived last Monday morning and reported for his first San Miguel practice the next day. Charles Rhodes, who led San Miguel to the second conference title last season, is tied up in the Korean Basketball League (KBL) with his team Jeonju KCC Egis down 0-1 to ET Land in their quarterfinal series and won’t be available to return to the PBA until after the playoffs.

Austria said if Gillenwater performs as advertised, San Miguel will stick with him. If Gillenwater doesn’t, Rhodes will return once he becomes available. Gillenwater is listed 6-9. He averaged 11.7 points in three games with Mighty Sports before sitting out the last five contests with a left foot injury at the 2016 Jones Cup in Taipei. Among his Mighty Sports teammates were incoming Magnolia import Vernon Macklin and GlobalPort player Jeric Teng. Gillenwater raised his scoring clip every season at New Mexico State, averaging 12.1 points to 14.6 to 18.9 before embarking on a globetrotting career with stops in Turkey, Puerto Rico, Russia, Venezuela, Israel, Japan and China. Last year, Gillenwater averaged 32.9 points and 10.4 rebounds with the Shaanxi Wolves in the Chinese Division II pro league.