SAN MIGUEL Beer is tired starting flat in a conference then working to find a rhythm in chase of the early frontrunners.
The Beermen now detest playing catch-up.
And successful with a 2-0 start in PBA Season 47 Philippine Cup, the goal now for the Beermen is to get going and pile up as many Ws they can.
Coach Leo Austria and his troops go for a third straight win as they tangle with the Magnolia Chicken Timplados Hotshots at 6 p.m. Friday at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo.
Coach Chito Victolero and his charges, meanwhile, eye a second straight win after back-to-back defeats.
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For SMB, there will be June Mar Fajardo pursuing a personal goal of stringing up points where every bucket will have an amount equivalent that the Cebuano behemoth will donate to charity.
The bigger goal of course is to win and fuel a drive to regain the league's crown jewel snatched by Barangay Ginebra in 2021 then TNT Tropang Giga early this year.
"Kailangan manalo, kailangan strong start sa conference," said Fajardo.
"Hinihingi ng mga players; they themselves are saying this is our conference," said Austria.
"But of course we have to work hard for it," added Austria of their goal to reclaim the crown they won five straight seasons from the 2014-15 campaign.
The Beermen did come out strong in a 108-100 victory over the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters, then followed it up with a 100-92 triumph over the NLEX Road Warriors.
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CJ Perez top scored with 19 points while Marcio Lassiter added 18 in a game where he reached 1,000 three-pointers in his PBA career.
Vic Manuel also contributed in a well-spread SMB production, then their coach insisted their desire to start strong in the tourney.
"Before this conference, we told the boys that we should have a good start in order for us to have a good rhythm," said Austria. "In previous conferences, you never witnessed the team in the first few games na nanalo kami. In fact, last conference, 0-2 agad kami.
"But this time, with this win, this will add some confidence to the team." (SB)
