For coming All-Star Game, Austria claims to know what PBA doesn’t: stopping June Mar
CANDON, Ilocos Sur—Leo Austria arrived in this city on Friday as his role as coach of the North All-Stars officially starts.
This time, Austria won’t be having June Mar Fajardo on his team, with his San Miguel Beer slotman being the lead man of the South squad for Sunday’s return of the annual classic.
“If it’s a tournament, I know how to stop him,” Austria said in jest, followed by a hearty laugh, knowing full well that no coach in the PBA has had Fajardo’s number for more than the last decade.
The main event of the festivities will see Austria in a more relaxed mode, with his main worry being the manner of how he’ll distribute the minutes of his players.
The All-Star Game serves as the final breather before the league returns to serious business, with the Commissioner’s Cup less than a week from getting off the ground.
His San Miguel squad won’t be seeing action until the 20th, the kickoff to its quest for another title following the successful retention of dominance in the Philippine Cup.
Challengers are aplenty, with TNT and Converge seen as San Miguel’s biggest obstacles following a bevy of moves that have fans talking.
Austria acknowledges this. At the same time, he also can’t hide his concerns.
“I’m a little bit worried because a lot of teams are getting better because of a lot of trades and acquisitions in the last few weeks,” Austria said. “It’s good for the PBA because it will be a little bit exciting because of the big imports tasked to stop our big man (Fajardo) from scoring in the shaded lane.”
Fajardo continues to be the model of excellence among locals in the league, as evidenced by his performance in the Beermen’s title-clincher against the TNT Tropang 5G. His 29 points and 23 rebounds in Game 6 allowed him to secure PBA Press Corps Finals MVP and become the first recipient of the Ramon Fernandez trophy.
Tropang 5G’s counter
TNT set the tone for its goal to make life tough for Fajardo with its celebrated signing of 7-foot-3 Bol Bol as an import. Some teams followed suit, taking advantage of the absence of a height restriction.
“It’s simply because of him (Fajardo),” Austria said. “I think the average height of imports that are here is 6-foot-10. With the presence of Bol Bol, we know what their (Tropang 5G) purpose is. They want to dominate the shaded area. And what more if those imports can score a lot.
“That is why I’m really worried about this conference. We just came back recently and some of the teams have been preparing for at least the past month.”
San Miguel opted to go with additional help for Fajardo in tapping 6-foot-11 Marcus Lee, who has been described as an interior presence based on how he’s performed in tune-up games against Meralco and University of Santo Tomas.
“He’s not an offensive player, but defensively, I think he can help a lot,” said Austria.
In the meantime, Austria will have to momentarily treat Fajardo, whose South team will be handled by TNT coach Chot Reyes, as a foe. A rare first, as he recalls.
“It’s our first time as opponents, except when playing DOTA,” Austria joked.
