San Miguel Beermen is off to a great start with Jorge Gallent on the helm as they occupy the top-3 seat of the Honda S47 PBA Governor’s Cup, defeating Blackwater Bossing on Wednesday, February 2.
The Beermen dominated the entirety of the game, finishing off Bossing with an 86-105 performance. Jericho Cruz led all scorers with 22, followed by Cameron Clark (20 pts) and June Mar Fajardo (17 pts).
SMB shot 43 percent on the field and 41 percent on threes. Meanwhile, their opponent also had a good performance, with 41% and 33%.
However, Bossing was terrible at sharing the ball. They only had 20 assists compared to Beermen’s 32.
Blackwater was also not taking care of the ball, committing 19 turnovers (TO), which their opponent took advantage of, recording nine steals. The game concluded with SMB having 24 points from TOs and 20 fast break points.
Looking at the stats, SMB’s newest head coach was the main reason their latest game was a blowoff. Gallent ensured that all his players touched the ball, which is why his team had more assists than Bossing.
They also improved their defense, especially from deep, allowing only 27 looks.
“I think our offense is going up because of our defense,” Gallent said after the game. “It’s the defense that’s triggering our offense.”
The Beermen hopes to extend their win streak to 3 once they face Terrafirma Dyip at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City today, February 3.
Can Jorge Gallent continue the streak?
Jorge Gallent, who replaced Leo Austria as Beermen’s head coach, is expected by many OKBET players to have a fashionable win against Dyip. However, SMB cannot tread lightly when going up against Terrafirma after managing an upset against the previously-unbeaten Meralco last January 28.
Moreover, the Beermen is facing an issue where they tend to relax after having a huge lead.
For instance, their matchup against the Phoenix Fuel Masters. Their lead was 29 before going to halftime but went down to 13 in the fourth.
They somehow managed to rack up points to put away Phoenix for good, 114-93.
“We just have to learn from it, and we just have to play smart,” Gallent pointed out. “In the first half, we kept running [our offense well], and then it suddenly stops. We just got to learn, [and] we just have to watch [the] film and see what’s happening there.
The coach added, “And like I always say, if we give other teams a chance to come back, they will take advantage of it.”
In the last two games, the Beermen relied on Cruz and Clark to initiate blowout after blowout, a strategy they would most likely use when they go against Dyip.
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