Winless Beermen switch to former Best Import Reid

MANILA, Philippines – The San Miguel Beermen have had enough.

At 0-4 to start the 2015 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, the all-Filipino champions changed things up and brought in former Rain or Shine import Arizona Reid, who joined practice on Wednesday, February 18.

“He will be our import next game,” said head coach Leo Austria following a tough 107-100 setback from last conference’s Finals antagonists Alaska Aces.

Reid, 28, replaces the 6-foot-8 Ronald Roberts who normed 23 points, close to 17 rebounds, and 2.2 blocks in all 4 games. In his last outing versus the Aces, the former NBA D-Leaguer tallied 24 points and 14 rebounds.

“Our intention for him (Reid) is to play in the third conference,” said Austria. “But since we’re 0-4 with our import, I think we need to have some changes.”

Standing at just 6-foot-5, the energetic Reid will have his work cut out for him against 7-footers and 6-foot-9 imports, which is this conference’s height limit for the top 8 teams.

But the former two-time Best Import awardee, who has played with the Painters since 2011, is not one to back down from adversity. 

He once scored a career-high and franchise-best 48 points in Rain or Shine’s 51-point decimation of the Alaska in last season’s Governors’ Cup. He also led them to the Finals that conference where he bagged his second Best Import plum even without the title with his 29 points, 13 rebounds, and 4 assists a game.

Austria and team captain Arwind Santos blamed San Miguel’s championship hangover as they dropped games versus the league’s expansion teams KIA and Blackwater.

But in the loss to the Aces, where the Beermen were more or less alive and kicking, Austria rued they particularly lacked leadership on the floor, which is something he hopes Reid could provide. 

“Yung kanyang leadership and maybe yung intelligence sa team. With what happened to us [against Alaska], maraming bad decision-making,” Austria lamented. “Leadership is what is lacking right now.”

(We need his leadership and intelligence in the team. With what happened to us against Alaska, there was plenty of bad decision-making.)

San Miguel will look to break into the win column on Saturday, February 21 when they clash with the still unbeaten Meralco Bolts in Cagayan de Oro City. – Rappler.com