It’s Holy Wednesday and two PBA title-contenders clobber each other right before the country takes a break. While thousands leave the city, San Miguel and Talk N Text are stuck on the court, past 9:00pm, competing in overtime. I scan San Miguel’s all-star bench. I see Olsen Racela, Danny Seigle and Danny Ildefonso play the role of most decorated benchwarmers in PBA history. I sense that the pressure to stay competitive and win in overtime is substantially greater for the Beermen than it is for any other team.
San Miguel wins in overtime but there’s little jubilation even if it’s a hard-earned victory over the Tropang Texters. It’s a long tournament. Afterwards, Racela looks around the locker room. He seems more anxious over what their talented line-up must accomplish and less excited with what a deep roster can achieve. He spots a two-time MVP in one corner and a former number overall draft pick in another. He isn’t awed by the sight of so many legit PBA starters all in one team. “It means nothing," Racela, who’s been in the league since 1993, says. “Unless we win a championship." San Miguel’s unexpected downfall in the Philippine Cup Semifinals last February still stings. It was a reminder that the reward for teams with less talent is sometimes overachievement while the curse for teams with so much talent is often underachievement. The Beermen, however, prefer to risk underperformance than pray for utopia. It makes better business sense. It’s how the New York Yankees form their teams. Improve your chances of success by getting the best available talent. Yet even amidst a wealth of talent, there’s always a catch. Although San Miguel made changes during the short mid-season break, aimed to make San Miguel an even stronger unit, they remain an awesome team beset with awesome expectations. “There were so many teams in the history of the PBA that had so much talent but they weren’t able to prove anything," Racela shares. “But it takes time to shape a winning line-up into a winning team." Fortunately for San Miguel, they have players young and talented enough to handle the volatile cocktail of time and pressure. Arwind Santos, Jonas Villanueva, Jay Washington and Joseph Yeo might form the core of San Miguel’s future success, but it’s winning today that preoccupies the Beermen. The impetus to win now, to win one more championship before the final bow, is even more essential for multi-titled veterans like Racela. “Kulang na yung oras para sa akin," Racela, who turns 40 this year, wryly says. San Miguel’s savvy point guard believes the key to transforming talent into teamwork is selflessness. “There has to be sacrifice," Racela admits. “The sacrifice started with kaming mga veterans. Danny S. is 100%. Danny I. is 100%. Pero kaming tatlo are not getting the minutes that we used to get. So I lead by example. I know I can still play but I don’t complain and I hope the other guys can see that." -
Mico Halili, GMANews.TV 
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