MANILA, Philippines — SAN Miguel Beer (SMB) coach Leo Austria believes import Bennie Boatwright’s subpar scoring night had something to do with the sweltering summer heat that’s now affecting people all over the country.
The 29-year-old scored just 16 points, way below his 39 points per game average in his first two games since replacing Justin Patton.
The former USC Trojan struggled to get his rhythm, as he went 5-of-20 only overall, while missing all six of his attempts from beyond the arc.
Fortunately, June Mar Fajardo played splendidly after leading SMB with 21 points and 17 rebounds, while Don Trollano was on target with 16 to help the Beermen score a come-from-behind 103-92 triumph against Meralco last Tuesday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.
“What I noticed from him, he was very sluggish, especially during practice. Maybe he’s still adjusting to our weather,” Austria told the media after the game. The victory pushed SMB to solo seventh spot in the standings with its even 5-5 record.
The 10-time PBA champion coach admitted that Boatwright is not the only one affected by the summer heat.
“Everybody from us apparently has [a] fever, but they have to adjust,” he added in Filipino. ”I think a lot of teams also have problems with cough and flu.” Austria is just glad that while Boatwright struggled mightily to get his game going, the locals managed to soldier on en route to beating the Bolts.
“There’s no way to get into the quarterfinals, and they know Meralco is a contender for the top 4. So they have to remain focused. We have to take care of our ball now,” stressed Austria, who steered the Beermen to the Philippine Cup championship a few months back.
The multi-titled PBA mentor hopes Boatwright could regain his shooting touch in the Beermen’s final elimination round games, knowing that their place in the playoffs remain unsecure at the moment.
“Bennie, after this game, I think he will realize he needs to perform well especially in the next two games, which is a must-win for us to get into the next round,” said Austria.
San Miguel has enough time to map out its game plan before swinging back to action versus Terrafirma on May 6, before closing the elims against Phoenix three days later.
