Leo Austria on PBA restart: ‘Lahat excited na makabalik sa court’

The San Miguel Beermen area going into the upcoming PBA restart armed with a 1-0 win loss record.

The 5-time defending champs’ 94-78 victory over the Magnolia Hotshots last March 8 will be carried over but head coach Leo Austria doesn’t see it as an advantage at all.

“Thankful siyempre dahil kahit paano may puhunan na tayo,” said Austria

“Lahat ng teams back to square one. Kaya level ang playing field. And with the long break, depende na siguro sa teams on how they will be able to quickly get back in shape,” he added.

So far, the multi-titled mentor claims that the players have remained in good physical condition despite the long layoff. The question that begs to be answered is their game shape.

“Lahat naman sila nasa kundisyon. Ang hindi natin alam if whether they are in game shape,” said the 1985 PBA Rookie of the Year awardee.

And along with the IATF’s approval for team scrimmages came the excitement that has been elusive for the last 7 months.

“Malaking bagay talaga yung scrimmages. It’s the first time we’ve done 5-on-5 since March kaya halos lahat excited na makabalik sa court,” said the 8-time PBA champion mentor.