Open Letter To The San Miguel Beermen

NOTE: This article isn't exactly in a form of a letter.

The look of frustration beckons. (credits to Interaksyon.com)

            To be honest, I have never been a die hard San Miguel Beermen fan until the season of their Governors’ Cup championship against the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters. Sure, they were my very first favorite PBA team, but the only reason for that was because Olsen Racela’s son was a friend and a batch mate. Despite that though, SMB has been my top favorite team. I may root for Alaska, RoS and at times Air 21, but the San Miguel Beermen will always be my top team.

            The very first time that the Beermen broke my heart was when they lost an epic 7 game series against the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters in the 2012 Philippine Cup, back when they were still called the Petron Blaze Boosters. Despite that, I still continued to root for the team. Yet, heart break stil came. And another. And another. Then Renaldo Balkman chokes away Petron’s championships hopes during the 2013 Commissioner’s Cup. Then the Arwind Santos era of choking began. And now, consecutive first round exits despite having (in my opinion) the soon to be named league MVP.

            I’ve had enough.

            The San Miguel Beermen fans have had enough.

Analyzing The Problem With The Beermen

            Back when Petron lost against the Tropang Texters during the 2012 Philippine Cup, I couldn’t really pinpoint any person or issue with regards to that lost. Other than me not being as literate to basketball compared to today, you couldn’t really blame the Blaze Boosters. They were against a stacked and well coached Talk ‘N Text team that was simply too poised and talented in such a tightly contested series (‘Till this day, that series is still the greatest series WHICH I HAVE WATCHED ALL GAMES.) Then all of a sudden, the pointing started.

            Right after that loss, the problems started to stack up.

            PBB seemingly panicked and changed their coaching staff. Then, they started to acquire a number of stars thru trades. At first, the idea of having an all star team for a professional sports team seemed like a terrifying thought for opposing teams. All of a sudden, issues of chemistry and ego came into place. Petron panicked again and made more trades. It was seemingly a never ending cycle of uncertainty. Yet, a glimmer of hope came when the Blaze Boosters reached the 2013 Governors’ Cup Finals. Yes, they may have lost that series, but finally, the never ending cycle uncertainty looked like it would end. One thing was for sure.

            June Mar Fajardo is the face of this franchise.

            June Mar Fajardo is the face of this franchise.

            Let me repeat just so I can make my message clear.

            JUNE MAR FAJARDO, THAT 6’10 ANIMAL OF A CENTER, IS THE FACE OF THE FRANCHISE.

            Clear enough? I hope so. Because that, is what the Beermen don’t get, and right now, that is why they cannot seem to win any championships.

Team Kraken? 

Face of the franchise. No doubt. (credits to Interaksyon.com)

            In the recently concluded NBA Finals, numerous Miami Heat fans complained that LeBron James, probably the face of the franchise right now (NOTE: Probably. Wade definitely has his case), didn’t get any help. Sure LeBron is the best player in the world, but he needs help.

            Now imagine this.

            LeBron James is in the game along with Mario Chalmers, Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh and Ray Allen. Wade handles the ball while Chalmers and Ray go around the perimeter to pick their spots. Chris Bosh is just standing around in the mid post looking for an opening. On the other hand, LeBron is begging for the ball in the low post. Despite that, Wade goes iso, wastes the shot clock and chucks a shot.

            Sounds frustrating doesn’t it? If you’re a Heat fan, you don’t have to experience that so you’re pretty lucky. If you’re an SMB fan, however, you experience this every game. Every single game.

            If there’s something that I noticed with SMB, is that, when June Mar starts to miss his shots despite the fact that teams are already ganging up on him, they stop going to him. They start to settle of ill advised jumpers and YOLO drives, which are evidently low percentage shots. The result? A loss for the Beermen.

            That’s exactly what happened during yesterday’s game against SMC. Junemar misses a few shots because of the swarming defense, the Beermen start to chuck up threes and go iso with Reggie Williams. I have absolutely no problem with Reggie Williams taking over. In fact, he should. What my problem is that, Junemar isn’t being involved in the offense. Pick ‘N Rolls? None. Passes off cuts? Zero. Analysts have stated multiple times, Junemar is the center of the offense whether or not the import is in the court or not. This is not supposed to be Sol Mercado’s team. Not Chris Lutz’s team. Most especially not Arwind Santos’. This brings me to another point.

            WHAT IS UP WITH THE COACHING STAFF?!?!?!

            Sino ba talaga coach? Si Tim Clone ‘o si Ravanes? In fact, why did SMB even decide to hire Todd Purves? Gee Abanilla was already doing a pretty decent job as SMB head coach. He may have not been excellent, but he was decent. He knew Junemar is the center of their offense. He knew that SMB has the tools to get open looks from three and in the post. While Purves? I doubt that he gets it. You see multiple poor three point attempts. Multiple possessions where Junemar even touches the ball. Multiple YOLO drives. Well, he does get one thing. Multiple criticisms from SMB fans.

            To cap things off, there is really only one remedy for the problems of the Beermen.

            Unity.

            They have to be united in order to win games. They have to play Team Basketball, but at the same time, they have to realize who the center of the team is. It’s not Sol nor Arwind. It’s Junemar. The success of the team runs through him. More often than not, if he gets his touches, SMB will win games. But if he doesn’t even touch the basketball, well SMB can say goodbye to hopes of touching that championship trophy.