It's going to be an exciting season for the San Miguel Beermen, criticism from Alaska coach Alex Compton notwithstanding.
Compton was said to have criticized the Beermen for boosting their roster further by acquiring star point guard Romeo, “saying kawawa ang liga.”
But SMC management said Romeo was offered to all the PBA teams before he was traded to Beermen.
SMC also fired back that Alaska has traded “competent players’ RJ Jazul and Calvin Abueva during Compton’s watch.”
“It is unfortunate that Alaska team head coach Alex Compton had to make a statement against the Beermen and the league when he actually traded away competent players like RJ Jazul and Calvin Abueva,” the SMC statement read.
The Beermen, however, are keen on looking forward.
“Despite Mr. Compton’s unnecessary remarks, we are still excited about what the future holds for PBA, our teams and the fans. Each PBA team has a responsibility to create the right chemistry and harness talents to come up with a formidable squad. This league has a gone a long way in providing entertainment and appreciation for this great sport and for that we thank all the people who have been a part in building it,” according to SMB officials.
By taking in last year’s rookie Christian Standhardinger into its fold mid-season, SMB was hailed by pundits as the team to beat, but it failed to even enter the Gov Cup finals, where Magnolia beat Alaska, 4 games to 2 to win the conference.
And so the challenge for the Beermen is how to put their star-studded lineup composed of five-time MVP JuneMar Fajardo, Arwind Santos, Marcio Lassiter, Chris Ross and now Romeo, working as a single unit.