by rick olivares pic by nuki sabio
In his third PBA coaching stop (the first was with
Shell and the second with Welcoat) this time with the San Miguel Beermen, Leo
Austria is finally in the finals of the Philippine Cup, the most prestigious
tournament of Asia’s first professional basketball league.
Austria admitted to being excited about being back in
the finals. As a player, he only won one title and that was with Shell during
the First Conference of 1990 (where Añejo players infamously walked out in Game
Six handing the title to Shell in a 4-2 series win). Conversely, he was a part
of that Shell team that was the first in PBA history to surrender a 3-1 series
lead and lose (also to Ginebra that exacted revenge one year later).
The former Lyceum shooting guard had better luck as
head coach in winning championships. In the now defunct, Philippine Basketball
League, he led the Welcoat Dragons to the 2002 Challenge Cup crown. With the
San Miguel Beermen, they copped the 2013 Asean Basketball League championship.
“Hopefully, I can lead San Miguel to a PBA
championship as well,” wished Austria who was a former PBA Rookie of the Year
(1985).
“When I was coaching Shell, it was in their
post-glory years. Wala na sila Benjie Paras at Ronnie Magsanoc,” said Austria.
“Pero we made the semifinals for two conferences before the team went on a
leave of absence. It was difficult trying to make do with not enough talented
players. But I was proud of that team. When Welcoat purchased the franchise of
Shell, it was an expansion club with no key players. Parang ang hirap umangat
ng team. Now with San Miguel, marami ngang stars daw pero ibang challenge din
yan.”
Going back
to the basics
I wanted team play and to define their roles.
Watching them before I took over, parang walang tiwala sa ibang teammates. Yung
sinasabi nilang trademark passing game ng San Miguel ng 1980s at 1990s, wala
na. So we went back to basics. One-on-one drills, two-on-three drills. Lahat.
Napansin ko na ino-observe ako ng mga Fil-Ams. Do they need this? Why do they
need to do this? Yun siguro yung mga nasa isip nila. A lot of those drills
emphasize team work and team play. Reminders lang. But they get the idea.
I needed them to make the pass to an open teammate
and to become a team. Hindi pwede sa akin nagsasabay yung mga player na pareho
pwesto o trabaho sa team. Magkakagulo lang yan. So now when I say, ‘Ronald
(Tubid), sub in ka na,” alam niya na kung sino papalitan niya.”
Being
goal-oriented
I am aware that medyo maikli yung tenure ng coaches.
Some feel na if you put in a system, it will take a while for all the players
to buy into it. Some might feel na hindi kaya so they will stick to what there
is. I cannot compromise myself. I have always coached a certain way whether
with Shell or Welcoat or with Adamson. I will stick to what I know. Yung goal namin
initially was to make the top four. Doon pa lang happy na ako. Swerte rin we
have made better progress than that. Doon muna tayo sa siguradong goals. Kasi
pag inasam mo yung mahirap abutin problema yan sa accountability.
Now nandito na tayo sa finals, we will not settle for
anything less than a championship. Si Alex (Cabagnot) at Arwind (Santos) pa
lang ang nakatikim ng championship dito. Sana after this lahat masaya.
This is San
Miguel Beer
One of the best things that (former head coach) Gee
Abanilla did was to allow the fans to once more watch team practices (it used
to be closed door). We needed to win back the fans. We continued that. I also
remind my players that they also represent the brand. So when people ask for
photographs, they should be thankful because it increases both the team’s and
their popularity.
Having said that, I work hard to make sure that there
are no cliques. You know the usual, Fil-Ams dito, locals doon. It cannot be
that way. Everyone has to be together. San Miguel Beermen kami. Not anything
else. It is nice to see everyone cheering each other on now. Helping one
another.
On the
Finals versus Alaska
Excited ako. Sila Coach Alex (Compton) and Louie
(Alas) are my peers. Mga kasabayan ko mga yan. They are very very good. Alaska
found an identity for themselves that is 180 degrees different from what
everyone used to know them for. And they are comfortable with that pressing and
physical and high energy defensive game of theirs.
We will go into the finals not to counter their game
but to impose our game.
A father, a coach, a good person....
ReplyDelete