The San Miguel Beermen celebrated Leo Austria’s return to the sidelines by pulling away for a 106-88 win against the Terrafirma Dyip in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup on Friday evening, December 13, at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium.

Austria was named as the Beermen’s new head coach ahead of the game, returning to the post he had vacated in January 2023. He replaced Jorge Gallent, who took over the position.

The Beermen welcomed back their mentor on a triumphant note, breaking the game open in the final quarter after allowing the Dyip to hang around in the first three periods.

“You cannot take lightly ‘yung mga teams eh. Lahat competitive. You can never know what will happen. That’s why I’m so happy to be back and win my first [game], after long years on the sideline,” said Austria after the contest.

Ahead 73-66 after the third period, the Beermen outscored Terrafirma, 33-22, in the fourth quarter to cruise to the comfortable win. They made 13 of 21 shots in the period while limiting the Dyip to nine field goals.

June Mar Fajardo earned Player of the Game honors with a 21-point, 19-rebound double-double on top of seven assists, while import Torren Jones had 24 points and 13 rebounds in his debut.

With the result, the Beermen snapped a two-game skid, having fallen to the NLEX Road Warriors and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the last two assignments after squeaking past the Phoenix Super LPG Fuel Masters in their conference opener. They now sit at 2-2 in the tournament.

Brandon Walton-Edwards had 18 points and 18 boards for the Dyip, while Mark Nonoy added 14 markers.

A victory continues to elude Terrafirma, however, as they are now 0-4 in the Commissioner’s Cup. (ABS-CBN News)