DEFENDING champion San Miguel Beer handed import Diamond Stone the pink slip after he shot bricks in the Beermen’s embarrassing 87-113 loss to Bay Area five days ago and tapped Devon Scott.
Whether SMB’s gamble will yield handsome dividends will be known when it tangles with Converge today in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.
The match is set at 5:45 p.m., with the Beermen raring to make up for a lopsided defeat where Stone only scored 11 points.
The Dragons take on hapless Terrafirma in the curtain-raiser at 3 o’clock.
Despite their foes having a new reinforcement and will still be without prized big man June Mar Fajardo, who had surgery on his throat, FiberXers coach Aldin Ayo is convinced they will have their hands full.
“We have to be consistent, especially on defense.
Supposedly dapat defensive team kami but before this game (against Meralco) kami iyong second-to-the-last doon sa points allowed so something’s wrong na kailangan naming trabahuhin,” Ayo said after his charges waylaid Meralco 106-99 last Saturday.
“Iyong offense naman, it will just come. All of our players can shoot, can score, but we are prioritizing our defense,” he added.
With the jury still out on Scott, SMB will rely on CJ Perez, Vic Manuel, Marcio Lassiter, Mo Tautuaa, and Chris Ross in its bid to hike its 1-2 mark.
The likes of import Quincy Miller, Maverick Ahanmisi, Jeron Teng, RK Ilagan, and Aljun Melecio will be counted upon by Converge in its attempt to move to 3-2.
“It will be another challenge, all of these are a challenge, tremendous respect for the competition and each one brings a challenge for us,” Bay Area tactician Brian Goorjian said.
“We got five wins under our belt. It’s not like a 30, 40-game season, I’ve never played a 12-game season before, so wins are four times as important.”
Carrying a 5-1 card, the Dragons will bank on reinforcement Andrew Nicholson, Hayden Blankley, Songwei Zhu, Kobey Lam, and 7-foot-5 center Chuanxing Liu.
The Dyip have lost five in a row in the mid-season tourney, and 0-21 overall dating back to last Governors’ Cup.
Import Lester Prosper, Juami Tiongson, Alex Cabagnot, and Joshua Munzon will carry the fight for Terrafirma.
