I guess what's lacking with the SMB in game one is not defense, it's the points or contribution from the usual names like Romeo and Cabagnot.
Everyone lacks contribution on the side of SMB, except for Perez.
Check the boxscore - https://pba.ph/recap?match=1955885, popular names like Romeo, Cabagnot, and Ross do not even make a double digit score.
While CJ Perez which is new to the team has always played very well with 23 points in this game.