Chot gives Beermen facelift

If their first two games in the PBA Pre Season tournament are to be the yardstick, it’s safe to say that the San Miguel Beermen are still a work in process.

For a team that is now run by a new coaching staff and adopting new sets of play patterns, the period of adjustments is understandable.

Noticeably, the first makeover that head coach Chot Reyes performed was to do away with the team’s halfcourt offense and transform the Beermen into a well-fueled running machine.

The modification seems to benefit the Beermen, who managed to keep pace with the Coca-Cola Tigers and the Talk N Text Phone Pals enabling them to escape with heart stopping wins. SMB defeated Coca-Cola, 110-102, then beat TNT by a whisker, 99-97, last Friday to tie Red Bull on top of the leader board in Group A with 2-0 records.

The Beermen hope to maintain their clean slate when they face the Sta. Lucia Realtors today at the Olivarez gym in Paranaque .

Sta. Lucia, led by top rookie pick Kelly Williams, remains winless in three starts.

The 24-year-old Fil-Am struggled in all those games, keeping jaded observers wondering whether the hardworking forward from Michigan will be able to settle by the time the league opens its 32 nd season on Oct. 1.

Alaska also aims to catch up with Air 21 on top of the standings in Group B when it plays Welcoat in the day’s other game scheduled at 5 p.m.

The Aces marked their debut in the tournament with an exhausting 101-99 overtime win over the Ginebra Kings Saturday night.

in San Fernando, Pampanga.

It was the first loss by the Kings after two blowout victories over the Purefoods Chunkee Giants and Welcoat Dragons in Group B.

Their game against the Dragons should be a walk in the park for the Aces. The league’s expansion ballclub is practically a young and small team without a legitimate leader.

Alaska coach Tim Cone said his troops are using the tournament to stay in game shape in preparation for the upcoming game with the Red Bull Barakos on Sept. 21 in Guam.

That game marks the first game of the season all though the league will officially open on Oct. 1.