FOR the first time in ten years, Filipino basketball fans will not witness the San Miguel Beermen compete in the quarterfinals after being eliminated from contention in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup Playoffs.
After so many years, it appears like the PBA is now entering a new era: a period where the San Miguel team is no longer the dominant force in Asia’s oldest professional basketball league.
The squad coached by Leo Austria was already out of quarterfinals contention when the NLEX Road Warriors defeated Hong Kong Eastern 94-76 on Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.
With its sixth win, NLEX extended its lead over San Miguel. A Road Warriors defeat would have given the Beermen hope of making the playoffs for the No. 8 berth, which would happen if Magnolia lost to Meralco on Friday.
Diminished Grand Slam Dreams
Given that things did not go their way, San Miguel will take an early vacation over a year after winning the Commissioner’s Cup by defeating Magnolia in six games on Valentine’s Day 2024.
They also saw their 22-conference playoff streak come to an end. The Beermen last missed the playoffs in the 2015 Commissioner’s Cup, finishing ninth with a 4-7 win-loss record.
Furthermore, their exit marks the first time since Barangay Ginebra in the 2005 Fiesta Conference that a reigning champion has failed to reach the conference’s quarterfinals the following season.
Prior to this conference, SMB had finished in the semifinals of the Governors’ Cup, the 49th season opening. Making it difficult to understand how powerful they were in previous seasons.
What happened?
Looking at it objectively, the Beermen had a lot of changes this conference: they had to swap coaches, made a crucial trade to get younger players, and had numerous import changes.
The squad went back to Leo Austria, who won nine titles for them, as their head coach after replacing Jorge Gallent. However, even the aforementioned strategist cannot duplicate their previous success.
The Beermen also tried Quincy Miller, Torren Jones, Jabari Narcis, and Malik Pope, but all proved fruitless. Jones was the only one of the four with a winning record, having gone 2-0 against the Beermen.
San Miguel also completed a transaction, getting Juami Tiongson and Drei Cahilig from Terrafirma in exchange for Terrence Romeo and Vic Manuel. However, it did not result into wins.
