San Miguel import Charles Rhodes considers Sunday's blowout loss to NorthPort as the worst defeat of his pro career.
But he said it should not be a cause for concern, assuring the Beermen will recover quickly from the debacle.
The Batang Pier capitalized on SMB's undermanned line up to deal the Beermen an embarrassing 121-88 rout in its PBA Commissioner's Cup debut.
"There's no need to panic, we gonna be at the top at the end," declared Rhodes, back for the first time since leading SMB to the 2017 Commissioner's Cup crown.
SMB which was coming from a three-week sabbatical after capturing its fifth straight Philippine Cup played without Chris Ross, Terrence Romeo, Kelly Nabong and Ronald Tubid due various reasons.
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Ross and Romeo are nursing injuries sustained during the Philippine Cup playoffs while Tubid and Nabong served the first of their three-game suspension.
While he is confident the Beermen would eventually emerge at the top, Rhodes said San Miguel still has room for improvement.
Against NorthPort, SMB committed 17 turnovers that netted the Batang Pier 21 points. They were also outrebounded 64-44.
"We gotta do better than that," he said. "We gotta have more pride than that. It's the San Miguel Beermen so we gotta do better than that." (JT)
