For most teams, losing two starters and a key reserve is a recipe for a loss. Not for the San Miguel Beermen.
Then again, San Miguel isn’t any other team. It’s deep and talented, and it’s among the few teams in the PBA that can overcome the absence of three rotation guys. That’s usually the case when the second stringers are so good they’d be starters on any other squad. In fact, they could start for the Beermen, too, according to San Miguel coach Leo Austria as his team continued its 2024–2025 PBA Philippine Cup campaign.
“The players are ready. Every player naman can be a starter in our team. What we’re trying to do is healthy competition. You have to dislodge the starter for you to become a starter,” Austria told the media after San Miguel beat the Blackwater Bossing at PhilSports Arena on Sunday even with Juami Tiongson, Marcio Lassiter, and Jeron Teng all sidelined due to sore eyes.
It hardly mattered as Cjay Perez fired a team-high 20 points and June Mar Fajardo put up 17 markers and 13 boards in just two quarters and change. The “other guys”—San Miguel’s second stringers—chipped in as well.
Bench Mob Gets It Done for San Miguel
Among those who stepped up for San Miguel was newly acquired big man JM Calma, who fired a conference-high 16 points on 7-for-9 shooting while grabbing 6 boards. Jericho Cruz and Don Trollano, two players good enough to start for any team, also played well, with Cruz scattering 13 points and 8 assists and Trollano scoring 15 markers. Chris Ross, Mo Tautaa, Andreas Cahilig, and Kris Rosales, all part of San Miguel’s bench mob, added a combined 34 markers just for good measure.
“Sometimes, [being a] starter is a big deal for a player, but they have to earn it,” Austria emphasized. “Nagkakaron ng healthy competition. In fact, in our practice, ‘yung second group namin, lagi nila tinatalo ‘yung first group.”
Indeed, the second group is pretty good. In fact, it nearly outscored Blackwater, 78-77, in a show of force on Sunday. Whether or not this performance will get anyone of Trollano and company to the starting lineup is up in the air. But one thing is for certain: It’s a good problem to have for any coach.
