San Miguel upbeat on recruits

MANILA, Philippines — The outlook is bright for San Miguel Beer with new recruits Simon Enciso and Vic Manuel as the team is set to unleash import Brandon Brown in the coming PBA Governors’ Cup. Brown arrived over a week ago and started practice last Friday but still missing in the workouts are Chris Ross, Terrence Romeo and Manuel. Ross is in the US attending to family matters while Romeo is recovering from a calf strain. Manuel attends practice but does his own supervised drills and rehab for a groin injury.

“Brandon looks good,” said team manager Gee Abanilla. “The guys welcomed Simon and Vic warmly. We value our relationship with Arwind (Santos) and Alex (Cabagnot) and we’re very, very grateful to them but there comes a time that we need to move on and focus on the talent that we have right now. We lose some, we gain some. Different pieces, different strengths and weaknesses. Now is the challenge for the coaching staff to make them jell as a unit.”

Brown, 36, was Eugene Phelps’ replacement with Phoenix in the 2017 Governors’ Cup and while he averaged a whopping 34.8 points, the Fuel Masters lost every game he played in. He scored 49 in a seven-point loss to TNT and 38 in a three-point defeat to Meralco. A former high school baseball player with dreams of someday becoming an FBI agent, Brown has toured the world playing hoops in Bahrain, Israel, Greece, Turkey, Korea, Saudi Arabia, China, Lithuania, Portugal, Iceland, Mexico, Uruguay, Argentina, Cyprus, France, Poland and the Philippines. His experience will go a long way in matching up against the other imports in the league.

Abanilla said Enciso will fit smoothly in coach Leo Austria’s system. “Simon is just a bundle of energy,” said Abanilla. “He works hard, gets the job done and is really willing to build chemistry with his new team. I think he’ll thrive in coach Leo’s system and at his age, he has a lot of good years ahead of him. As for Vic, he promised to be in the best shape ever in his career. He has a lot to prove after meeting us several times in the finals. Once he gets in tip-top shape, he’ll be a great contributor to our team.”

The good news from the San Miguel camp is June Mar Fajardo is getting into his groove. “A few more weeks of practice will really do him well,” said Abanilla. “We’ve been communicating with Chris since he left to tend to his father’s needs. I’m requesting everyone to say a prayer for Chris and his family and for the repose of his father’s soul.” Abanilla said Manuel and Romeo will begin practice this week.