BUMPED off the playoffs for the first time in a long while in the last conference, San Miguel Beer could be all fire and fury in a redemption drive in PBA Season 49 Philippine Cup.
Robert Bolick and his NLEX teammates will face an expected raging Beermen side on Saturday at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium on Day 2 of the season-ending tournament.
Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. – the return of coach Leo Austria’s troops into action after its unceremonious exit in the recent Commissioner’s Cup following a shocking 10th-place finish in the elims.
The Beermen’s failure to make the playoffs despite being the defending champions is unfamiliar territory. The franchise, the winningest in the league with 29 crowns, missed the post-elims play for the first time in 10 years.
And curiously, the Beermen’s sorry fate was (5-7) sealed when NLEX, with import Mike Watkins, blasted Hong Kong Eastern, 94-76, for a 6-6 closing card, tied with Magnolia.
The Beermen and the Road Warriors were among the dubious list of teams outside the playoff picture, along with the Blackwater Bossing, the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters, and the Terrafirma Dyip.
JMF and Co. should have learned their lessons and should be aching to hit the ground running in the Philippine Cup.
Incidentally, the last all-Filipino was also a bitter pill for the Beermen, who were beaten in the finals by first-time champs Meralco Bolts.
Then, the titleholders and heavy favorites, the Beermen, were brought down from their lofty perch and crushed by the Bolts in six games in the best-of-seven title showdown.
For Fajardo and Bolick, the Philippine Cup is also the final battleground in their rumble for the season Most Valuable Player award with Commissioner’s Cup BPC winner Arvin Tolentino of Northport. Another player likely to figure in the race is TNT’s Calvin Oftana.
Fajardo is in contention for a record-extending ninth MVP citation. He’s an automatic candidate for being the Governors’ Cup Best Player awardee.