SMB welcomes small-ball system with Fajardo out

By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña

The San Miguel Beermen management has decided to incorporate a small-ball system in their plays after their superstar big man June Mar Fajardo was ruled out of the PBA Philippine Cup after fracturing his tibia.

Known for their post-oriented style play of dumping the ball to Fajardo and allowing the five-time MVP to operate, SMB head coach Leo Austria is preparing to transition his team to a new play style.

“Marami kaming guards. Baka mag-small ball kami just in case na ‘yung mga big man namin ay magkaroon ng foul trouble. You can never know eh. We are trying to prepare just in case those things happen,” said Austria.

With Fajardo’s injury, the SMB roster is left with former Gilas standout Moala Tautaa and veteran Billy Mamaril as their pure centers.

Coach Austria is also looking to hone Tautaa into an offensive force and will add his minutes to fill in the void Fajardo left.

Aside from the talent level that Tautaa has, SMB is also switching their approach to cater to a more guard-oriented offense.

“We have a lot of talented players from the guards. Nagkakaroon ng equal opportunity. They have to do their role. And that’s what will happen. Unpredictable, you don’t know kung saan kami pupunta eh,” added Austria.