2-0 start puts Beermen in Dyip’s path—with an urgent need to solve up-and-down execution

New coach Jorge Galent made sure keeping his players fresh will be a top priority after overcoming the first hurdle in a brutal week for San Miguel Beer.

But after a 105-86 win over Blackwater Bossing on Wednesday to go 2-0 in the PBA Governor’s Cup, Galent and the Beermen want to make sure they can handle their schedule one at a time, especially with another team out. the next upset on the slate.

“Terrafirma won so the confidence is also high,” Galent said after San Miguel made the lopsided result at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City.

The Beermen face Dyip on Saturday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City, before heading to the Smart Araneta Coliseum for Sunday’s marquee showdown with the Magnolia Hotshots.

San Miguel, however, could not take Terrafirma lightly since the latter pulled off a stunning 96-88 upset of Meralco last Saturday in Antipolo.

‘Play smart’

Terrafirma has won only four times in its last 28 games since the 2021 Philippine Cup, and the impression is that San Miguel will walk away.

However, the performance of the Beermen was a carbon copy of the 114-93 romp of the Phoenix Fuel Masters three days earlier when the lead as wide as the number of days this month was slashed to more than half during the payoff period.

“We just have to learn from it, and we just have to play smart,” Galent said. “In the first half, we kept going [our offense well], then suddenly stopped. We just have to learn, we just have to watch film and see what happens there.

“And like I said, if we give other teams a chance to come back, they’ll benefit,” he said.

Remaining unbeaten after two matches since San Miguel management’s surprising decision to tap him as the successor to Austria’s Leo, Galent must have done so.

In both games, the Beermen leaned on a hot start, this time with Jericho Cruz (22 points) and import Cameron Clark (20 points and nine rebounds) sparking another explosion.

It was the defense, however, that Galent described as the main catalyst.

“I think our offense is stepping up because of our defense,” he said. “It’s our defense that drives our offense.”

New import

Meanwhile, NLEX tapped another former NBA player who will be assigned to fill the void when Jonathon Simmons completes four games in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Former Memphis Grizzlies guard Wayne Seldin Jr. will arrive in the next day or two to begin the Road Warriors’ transition after Simmons agreed to play in the early conference finals of the season.

NLEX team representative Ronald Dulatre confirmed before NLEX took on TNT on Wednesday at the PhilSports Arena Seldin’s signing, which was first announced by coach Frankie Lim in a televised interview.

The 28-year-old is expected to make his debut on February 8 against Barangay Commissioner’s Cup champion Ginebra at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Seldin was brought with Simmons to return to China after accepting an offer before his Road Warriors debut.

What NLEX can hope for is that Seldin can carry the same pedigree as Simmons.

After being waived in the 2016 NBA Draft, Seldin played in New Orleans for three games in 2017 before being signed by the Grizzlies where he spent two more seasons.

He was traded to the Chicago Bulls in 2019 before bouncing around the NBA G-League, Israel, Turkey and Italy.

Simmons will play against TNT before completing his brief tour of duty on February 4 against slumping NLEX at the Ynares Center.

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