Former and returning San Miguel coaches Jorge Gallent and Leo Austria during a PBA game. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

Leo Austria admitted he hardly had any sleep after being thrust back to his old role as coach of the San Miguel Beermen.

“Nabigla ako (I was surprised),” Austria said after guiding the Beermen to a 106-88 rout of the Terrafirma Dyip on Friday that snapped a two-game slide for powerhouse San Miguel in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Article continues after this advertisement

READ: PBA: Leo Austria back as San Miguel head coach

FEATURED STORIES SPORTS Leo Austria returns as coach, Beermen immediately rediscover form SPORTS PBA: Leo Austria back as San Miguel head coach SPORTS PBA: Ginebra crushes Phoenix for back to back wins

Once everything sinks in, however, Austria will look to get the team up to speed in what management hopes would lead to the return of San Miguel’s winning ways, at least for the midseason conference.

The Friday the 13th triumph allowed the Beermen to rise to 2-2 and possibly look at better things ahead—much in the same way they did when the squad won nine titles under Austria.

Article continues after this advertisement

READ: PBA: San Miguel routs Terrafirma in Leo Austria’s return

Article continues after this advertisement

Austria made no assurances on how he’ll try to completely solve things that led to the early conference woes, nor how he’ll rotate his players, given his reputation as someone who has a small rotation.

Article continues after this advertisement

“There’s no equal opportunity here,” Austria said, referring to his usual style of giving star players extended minutes. “If you do well on the court, you’ll have a longer playing time. But to do that, you have to earn your way.”

11th-hour switch

Returning San Miguel Beermen coach Leo Austria. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net

San Miguel decided on the coaching switch on the eve of the contest, with Austria caught off guard when told during San Miguel Corp.’s company-wide Christmas party.

gold88 slot Article continues after this advertisement

“I was called upstairs by management and that’s the time they asked me if I can coach,” recalled Austria. “I didn’t get enough sleep because there’s a lot of pressure. In the PBA, you cannot take any team for granted.”

Austria had relinquished his role to Jorge Gallent in the 2023 Governors’ Cup after winning six Philippine Cups as the highlight of his first run, but stayed on as a consultant.

The agreement to buy energy from reactors built by Kairos Power came just weeks after word that Three Mile Island, the site of America’s worst nuclear accident, will restart operations to provide energy to Microsoft.

But with the move, Gallent this time slides down as consultant, which he did against Terrafirma when at times he and Austria were discussing some adjustments on the sideline.

“I was already happy as a consultant because there’s not a lot of pressure,” Austria said. “This morning, we (Gallent and I) were able to talk and it was very casual, and he told me that he’ll be there to lend his support.”

San Miguel also won with a new import in Torren Jones, who posted 24 points and 13 rebounds as replacement for Quincy Miller.

June Mar Fajardo had 21 points and 19 rebounds even as CJ Perez scored 16 and Juami Tiongson added 12 in his first game against his former team.

Terrafirma dropped to a 0-5 record.

Fajardo, the eight-time MVP, expressed total joy in having Austria back.

“We’re all glad that Pops is back. It’s been too long,” Fajardo said. “He’s back, and we won, and we just hope this goes on.”

Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again. Your subscription has been successful.

Subscribe to our daily newsletter

SIGN ME UP

By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy.

The San Miguel cornerstone also notched a career milestone as he now has tallied 6winforbet gaming,163 total rebounds to dislodge Purefoods legend Alvin Patrimonio at No. 5 in the PBA’s career list.

READ NEXT Leo Austria returns as coach, Beermen immediately rediscover form Justine Baltazar drags feet in debut, vows to bounce back strong EDITORS' PICK Atom Araullo wins red-tagging civil suit vs Badoy, Celiz Acop: Quad comm uncovers Duterte’s link to ‘grand criminal enterprise’ Court clears model in Julie Ann Rodelas slay, but boyfriend found guilty Bong Go slams removal of PhilHealth’s P74B subsidy as ‘anti-poor’ P40 per kilo rice now available in more public markets Bar exam 2024: List of successful examinees MOST READ Comelec exempts 48 projects from election ban Bar exam 2024: List of successful examinees 3 schools have highest percentage of passers among first-time bar exam takers House panel: Ex-president Duterte center of grand criminal enterprise Follow @FMangosingINQ on Twitter --> View comments