The Slow Rise of the Beermen Inside the Bubble

Starting an all-Filipino conference without arguably one of the greatest big men in the history of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA), the San Miguel Beermen knew that they won't be able to dominate the Philippine Cup like they used to do in the past half a decade. Even though they opened the conference with a victory against the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok last March before the league indefinitely suspended the games due to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, it doesn't change the fact that the defending champions are in an unfamiliar territory that they haven't been to in a long time.

Then, the PBA bubble in Clark started and so did a two-game losing streak for the Beermen with both losses coming at the hands of two of the top teams in the league. Since then, San Miguel looked to have figured things out on how to win without June Mar Fajardo as they are now on a three-game winning streak following their 89-82 win against the Meralco Bolts on Wednesday. What's big about the Beermen's current run is that they are winning even without Terrence Romeo who has already exited the bubble due to a shoulder injury.

In two of their past three games, Moala Tautuaa was the Beermen's leading scorer as he is averaging 21 points per game in those three games. He finished with 23 points, five rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and a steal against the Bolts. And as expected, the rest of the Beermen continue to step up in the absence of Fajardo and Romeo. What's makes this San Miguel squad scary and unpredictable is this: they may have lost two scoring juggernauts and yet, they are still loaded with legitimate scorers. Arwind Santos finished with 17 points and 11 rebounds on Wednesday with three other players scoring in double figures. Against the TerraFirma Dyip, five players of Coach Leo Austria scored 11 points or more. The same thing happened against the Alaska Aces when five Beermen scored 10 points or more. And, they shot 42% from the field in those three wins while holding their opponents to 40% field goal shooting. 

If anything, these numbers prove that there are more reasons to "Fear the Beer". While many believe that the absence of June Mar Fajardo makes this one of the most-open all-Filipino conferences in recent memory, it doesn't mean that San Miguel will not be competitive. They are still competitive. They are still loaded with talented players. And yes, they are still in the running for a top-four finish in the elimination round. 

Photo is from the PBA