As San Miguel Beer collects championship after another, head coach Leo Austria continues to beef up his credentials.
With the Beermen's conquest of the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup on Friday, Austria eclipsed former Toyota coach Dante Silverio and tied Tommy Manotoc with six titles under his belt.
Another SMB championship and Austria will tie NLEX veteran mentor Yeng Guiao for the sixth spot in the list of winningest coaches where Ginebra mentor Tim Cone remains the frontrunner with 20 titles.
The legendary Baby Dalupan is at second with 15, while Meralco coach Norman Black (11), Jong Uichico (9), and Gilas tactician Chot Reyes (8) round out the top five of the elite list.
The question is, is Austria also bound to be among the best coaches in the league?
That doesn't seem farfetched with a formidable SMB lineup led by four-time reigning MVP June Mar Fajardo, who willed his team to a 108-99 win over Magnolia in Game 5 of the finals for a historic fourth straight Philippine Cup title, at his disposal.
"I'm planning to extend it," said Austria in jest when informed by reporters that he has yet to lose in a finals series.
"I'm so lucky because I haven't lost in a finals series. And I hope the day that I will lose doesn't come."
But even though he has arguably the best team ever assembled under his command, Austria said the Beermen will continue to sharpen their skills and reinforce their roster in the hopes of winning more championships.
And come the Commissioner's Cup, they will welcome an American import and Christian Standhardinger, the top overall pick in the 2017 draft.
"But everything is possible, and we still have to work hard in the coming conferences because we know we are facing prolific imports," Austria said.
"They can limit June Mar Fajardo, because they have an import to match up on the strength of June Mar. But we still have Christian and our import who could support the team. And I think we're really confident we can still win a championship if given a chance and the opportunity."
Imagine San Miguel's starting unit of Fajardo, Alex Cabagnot, Chris Ross, Arwind Santos, and Marcio Lassiter with the 6-foot-8 Fil-German. Safe to say, that will make the Beermen invincible.