Reserve guard Brian Heruela finally had a breakout game.
Without veteran guard Alex Cabagnot, the stocky guard stepped up big and delivered his best performance in a San Miguel Beer uniform, scoring 17 points, dishing out five assists and collecting six steals in 23 minutes of action in their 107-93 win over GlobalPort Batang Pier.
Long-time teammate and reigning four-time Most Valuable Player June Mar Fajardo wasn’t surprised at all with Heruela’s performance.
“Ginagawa niya pa dati yan,” said Fajardo who played alongside Heruela in University of Cebu.
“Kulang lang talaga sa kanya yung minutes lang. Lagi naman siyang ready at lagi kaming nag-uusap. Nagpapakundisyon siya at nakikita yun ni coach.”
Beermen coach Leo Austria also praised Heruela.
“Inagaw niya yung show kay June Mar, kay Arwind (Santos) and Marcio Lassiter tonight,” Austria said.
With Cabagnot expected to miss at least three weeks due to a foot injury, Heruela will have big shoes to fill in the Beermen’s title defense bid.
“Probably, next month pa, second week ng February siya (Cabagnot) makakalaro. We’ll do our best na pagalingin agad although we’re not in a hurry,” Austria said.
