Leo Austria served as head coach of Adamson in the UAAP before taking his act to the PBA with the San Miguel Beermen.
As the San Miguel Beermen revelled in the glory of a 29th PBA crown, Jericho Cruz joined Don Trollano, Rodney Brondial, and coach Leo Austria in the corner and posed for a picture that was iconic in more ways than one.
Together, they fought and failed in college with Adamson in the UAAP. Now they finally broke through together in the PBA, this time with the Beermen.
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“It’s the best feeling for me cause I get to win it with coach Leo, Don, and Rodney,” said Cruz with a big smile shortly after the Beermen pulled off the championship-sealing 104-102 win over Magnolia in Game Six of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals last Wednesday.
“Nung time namin sa Adamson, we never had a chance.”
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Austria, who now serves as SMB consultant after guiding the Beermen to nine championships as head coach, shared the same sentiments.
“I’m so happy for them,” said Austria, who served as Adamson head coach from 2006 to 2013 before taking his act to the ABL with the San Miguel Beermen and later in the PBA.
The amiable mentor couldn’t help but recall the frustrations of not making the Finals during their run with the San Marcelino-based Falcons.
But failure is part of the grand design. The more important thing is that his wards have now won it all in the biggest basketball stage.
“Those things gave us a lot of experiences na nadala nila dito,” Austria said.
Cruz, for his part, is not really thinking about all that now. He was still on cloud nine when he talked to reporters after Wednesday's conquest at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
[RELATED STORY: Jericho Cruz still on cloud nine after 30-point outing vs Magnolia in Game 5]
The burly guard, who already won one with Trollano at Rain or Shine in 2016, is simply craving for more chips with his longtime pals.
“Hindi ko na iniisip yun. Past is past na ‘yun para sakin. Dun na tayo sa future,” he said.