“Thankful siyempre dahil kahit paano may puhunan na tayo,” the four-time Coach of the Year as the Beermen underwent their first day of scrimmage on Friday at the Angeles University Foundation.

However, the coach believes that the new set-up and the rest of the field requires a lot of work to be done for the reigning five-time Philippine Cup champions.

“Lahat ng teams back to square one. Kaya level ang playing field,” he said. “And with the long break, depende na siguro sa teams on how they will be able to quickly get back in shape.”

The 1-0 record of San Miguel was gained after the only game played this season, 94-78, against Magnolia Hotshots last March 8 before the league announced to shelf the remainder of the season.

Beermen’s coach is still confident that his players have remained in physical condition in the six months lockdown.

“Lahat naman sila nasa kundisyon. Ang hindi natin alam if whether they are in-game shape,” he said after the official start of scrimmages three days as the Clark bubble was opened.

“Malaking bagay talaga yung scrimmages. It’s the first time we’ve done 5-on-5 since March kaya halos lahat excited na makabalik sa court.”

Meanwhile, five-time MVP June Mar Fajardo and Matt Ganuelas-Rosser who were both standouts in last year’s All-Filipino conference declined to go with the team in Clark.

Despite the absence of the key players, Austria affirms the team can find a way for San Miguel to overcome adversity.