2003 San Miguel Beermen season explained

Pbayear:2003
Team:San Miguel Beermen
Team2:San Miguel Beermen
Coach:Jong Uichico
1C-Name:All-Filipino Cup
1C-Wins:13
1C-Losses:8
1C-Place:N/A
1C-Playoffs:QF
2C-Name:Invitational Cup
2C-Wins:2
2C-Losses:2
2C-Place:N/A
2C-Playoffs:N/A
3C-Name:Reinforced Conference
3C-Wins:13
3C-Losses:12
3C-Place:2nd
3C-Playoffs:Runner-up
Owners:San Miguel Corporation
Manager:Robert Non[1]
Pol Team:3
Prevseason:2002

The 2003 San Miguel Beermen season was the 29th season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Draft picks

See main article: 2003 PBA draft.

Finals stint

After missing out the finals in the last five conferences, the Beermen made it to the championship playoffs in the Reinforced Third Conference. The Beermen dropped their first five games in the eliminations, playing without an import in their first game before returnee Shea Seals suited up. Seals was replaced by Eric Dailey, who played one game before the Beermen reactivate Seals only to be replaced again this time by former Sta. Lucia import Kwan Johnson, who led the team to their first victory in their six outing, an 85–73 win over Purefoods TJ Hotdogs on September 26.[2]

San Miguel had five wins and eight losses at the end of the elimination round. The Beermen scored a two-game sweep off FedEx Express in the best-of-three quarterfinals and a three-game sweep over Sta.Lucia Realtors in the best-of-five semifinals to make it all the way to the championship series against the Coca-Cola Tigers. The Beermen led 2–1 in the series but lost to the Tigers in seven games.

See main article: 2003 PBA Reinforced Conference finals.

Occurrences

Center Dorian Peña was suspended for two games during the All-Filipino Cup when he was tested positive of traces of marijuana in a drug test conducted by the PBA.

On June 12, two-time MVP Benjie Paras came out of retirement to sign a two-month contract with San Miguel, only his second team in a 14-year PBA career that started in 1989. The former Shell franchise player announced his retirement earlier in the year.[3]

When Kwan Johnson suffered a groin injury in Game one of the PBA Reinforced Conference finals, San Miguel played importless in the second game of the title series which they lost via rout. The Beermen decided to tap NBA veteran Cedric Ceballos as a temporary replacement in Game three and then opted to stick with Kwan Johnson for the rest of the finals series.[4]

Game results

All-Filipino Cup

DateOpponentScoreTop scorerVenue Location
February 28 Coca-Cola 67–72 Makati Coliseum Makati City
March 5 Red Bull 93–90 Philsports Arena Pasig
March 9 Talk 'N Text 79–83 Araneta Coliseum Quezon City
March 14 Brgy.Ginebra 80–76 Philsports Arena Pasig
March 19 Alaska 81–76 Philsports Arena Pasig
March 22 Shell 89–81 Lamberto Macias Sports Center Dumaguete City
March 28 Purefoods 85–88 Hontiveros (22 pts) Araneta Coliseum Quezon City
April 4 Red Bull 93–96 Philsports Arena Pasig
April 11 Sta.Lucia 80–77 OT Makati Coliseum Makati City
April 16 FedEx 81–91 Belasco (21 pts) Philsports Arena Pasig
April 23 Purefoods 72–82 Philsports Arena Pasig
April 26 Alaska 78–69 Ynares Center Antipolo City
May 3 Sta.Lucia 81–70 Puerto Princesa, Palawan
May 7 Brgy.Ginebra 103–97 Phil sports Arena Pasig
May 14 Coca-Cola 82–77 Philsports Arena Pasig
May 16 Shell 76–58 Ynares Center Antipolo City
May 23 FedEx 88–79 Makati Coliseum Makati City
May 28 Talk 'N Text 106–102 Belasco (27 pts) Philsports Arena Pasig




Notes and References

  1. Web site: Henson . Joaquin M. . Quinito Henson . 2003-03-26 . Dream come true . 2024-08-07 . Philstar.com.
  2. Web site: Beermen ends losing spell with Johnson. Philippine Daily Inquirer – Google News Archive Search. 26 October 2016.
  3. Web site: Paras Comes Out of Retirement as a Beerman. 13 June 2003. 26 October 2016.
  4. News: Johnson expected to suit up for SMB. Philippine Daily Inquirer.