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PBA: Austria hopes Simon Enciso will reach full potential in San Miguel

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Camille B. Naredo, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Simon Enciso (0) in action for Blackwater in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup. File photo. PBA Media Bureau" src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/sports/11/18/20211118-simon-enciso-pba.jpg?ext=.jpg"/><figcaption>Simon Enciso (0) in action for Blackwater in the 2021 PBA Philippine Cup. File photo. PBA Media Bureau</figcaption></figure></div>MANILA, Philippines -- San Miguel head coach Leo Austria is well aware of the kind of player they gave up when they traded Alex Cabagnot to TerraFirma for Simon Enciso.It was the second shocking deal that the Beermen made in the past week, after sending Arwind Santos -- another franchise cornerstone -- to NorthPort in exchange for Vic Manuel.&quot;In terms of experience, talagang napakalayo ni Alex (kay Simon),&quot; Austria admitted.Cabagnot, who played for San Miguel since 2010 save for a brief stint with GlobalPort in 2014, helped the Beermen win nine PBA championships and was the Finals MVP in the 2017 Commissioner&#x27;s Cup. Along the way, he earned the nickname of &quot;Crunchman&quot; for his heroics in crunch time. <ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/11/16/21/terrafirma-coach-has-high-expectations-for-cabagnot">READ: TerraFirma coach has high expectations for Cabagnot</a></li></ul>Enciso, meanwhile, was a second round pick in 2015 by Rain or Shine and had already played for five different franchises before landing in San Miguel. In the 2021 PBA Governors&#x27; Cup, he was one of the few bright spots in a woeful Blackwater team that went winless in the conference, averaging 13.7 points, 4.1 assists, and 2.8 rebounds per game. Prior to that, he played in TNT last year, putting up 9.6 points, 2.8 assists, and 2.3 rebounds per game while starting in 20 of their 22 games.&quot;Nakita namin na si Enciso is playing well from Talk &#x27;N Text, and then, nalipat siya sa Blackwater and maganda naman nilalaro niya,&quot; Austria said of the journeyman guard.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/11/15/21/smb-coach-austria-saddened-by-cabagnot-santos-trades">READ: SMB coach Austria saddened by Cabagnot, Santos trades</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/11/13/21/pba-smb-trades-cabagnot-to-terrafirma-for-simon-enciso">READ: SMB trades Cabagnot to Terrafirma for Simon Enciso</a></li></ul>The hope for the San Miguel coach is that Enciso will be able to maximize his potential with the Beermen, where he will still be surrounded by a veteran core that includes Chris Ross, Marcio Lassiter, and June Mar Fajardo.&quot;Maybe in the next few conferences, Simon will become like … the game of Alex,&quot; Austria said. &quot;Anyway, almost same size sila and same position, &#x27;yung ganoon, parang wala ding nawala.&quot;The coach is also counting on Enciso&#x27;s hunger to win, as the guard has yet to win a championship in his PBA career. He reached the 2020 All-Filipino Cup finals with the Tropang GIGA last year but they fell to Barangay Ginebra in five games.&quot;Siguro &#x27;yung aggressiveness nung Simon dahil never been into the championship. Same thing with Manuel, hindi pa nagcha-champion,&quot; said Austria. &quot;So this is the kind of players na talagang after kami, na medyo gutom.&quot;San Miguel is seeking a return to the top of the PBA mountain after having fallen short for three consecutive conferences now. They missed out on a Grand Slam in 2019, exiting in the quarterfinals of the Governors&#x27; Cup against Ginebra, and ceded their All-Filipino crown last year when they lost -- also in the quarterfinals -- to Meralco.Last month, they bowed in seven games to eventual champions TNT in the semifinals of the Philippine Cup.

San Miguel head coach Leo Austria is well aware of the kind of player they gave up when they traded Alex Cabagnot to TerraFirma for Simon Enciso.

PBA: Austria hopes Simon Enciso will reach full potential in San Miguel

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PBA: Austria hopes Simon Enciso will reach full potential in San Miguel

Camille B. Naredo,

ABS-CBN News

Published Nov 18, 2021 06:31 PM PHT

Read More:

PBA

San Miguel Beer

Leo Austria

Alex Cabagnot

Simon Enciso

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