San Miguel Beermen during a huddle in a game against Terrafirma Dyip within the 2026 PBA Commissioner’s Cup. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines—San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria is urging his Beermen to shift into one other gear because the playoff race for the PBA Commissioner’s Cup heats up.
Despite a convincing 126-110 win over Terrafirma Dyip on Wednesday, Austria said the Beermen still must rediscover the sting that defined their championship runs.
“We still have one game remaining against Phoenix so every game, we wish to develop that killer instinct again,” he said. “That very same killer instinct is what gave us loads of championships.”
The sport on Saturday will likely be crucial, to say the least.
Because it stands, the Beermen and the Fuel Masters are caught in a four-way logjam for the fifth seed with TNT and Magnolia, which all hold an identical 6-5 records after Wednesday.
Against the Dyip, Fajardo embodied that killer instinct Austria was on the lookout for with a monster double-double of 30 points and 16 rebounds.
“We knew we would have liked this,” said the reigning MVP. “Paps (Austria) reminded us in practice that we’d like to go hard from the beginning because now we have a tough time chasing down leads in order that’s what we did today.”
The Beermen barely gave Terrafirma a likelihood in what ended as much as be Dyip’s elimination loss within the import-laden conference.
They now look to hold that momentum into their final elimination-round game against Phoenix at Ynares Sports Center.