Rejigged San Miguel Beermen debut vs. NLEX in PBA Governors’ Cup

THE retooled San Miguel Beermen will debut their new-look lineup when they tangle with the NLEX Road Warriors in the Season 46 PBA Governors’ Cup at the Ynares Sports Arena on Dec. 8, 2021.

After trading away main cogs Arwind Santos and Alex Cabagnot in the offseason, San Miguel will unveil new pieces like Vic Manuel and Simon Enciso, along with import Brandon Brown as they look to stop a three-conference slump and reclaim their spot atop the PBA mountain. “For sure, all of us prepared well for this season’s resumption, and we’re all excited to return to play. I expect a tough match,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria on the PBA’s official website.

San Miguel team manager Gee Abanilla said they are now focused on the players they have right now.

“We value our relationship with Arwind and Alex, and we’re grateful to them, but there comes a time that we need to move on and focus on the talent that we have right now. We need to nurture and find a way to make our new gems complement the team,” said San Miguel team manager Gee Abanilla.

“We lose some; we gain some. Different pieces, different strengths and weaknesses. Now is the challenge for the coaching staff to make them jell as a unit and with Brandon’s addition, we can hide those temporary weaknesses until we fully accept what kind of team we want to be,” he said.

Brown is no stranger to PBA action as he played for Phoenix four years ago and averaged over 34 points per game in six matches.

NLEX, though, will be no pushovers as they parade former TNT import KJ McDaniels, who averaged monster numbers of 35.5 points, 13.5 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.4 steals back in 2019 where he led the Tropang Giga to a semifinal finish.

“With KJ’s presence, with our new guys and with the rest of the guys, we feel we have the players to complement one another and I think we can get to the semifinals,” said NLEX coach Yeng Guiao.