The San Miguel Beermen’s championship poise was on full show in Game One of their 2019 PBA Philippine Cup best-of-seven semifinal series against the top-seeded Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters, Saturday night at SM Mall of Asia Arena.
The Beermen saw their 24-point lead melt down to just seven with 4:55 to play, and even lost main man June Mar Fajardo to fouls with 3:49 left. Still, they did all the necessary things on both ends to come out with the 100-88 win.
“They just made shots. We had a hard time making stops and they just took advantage,” said Alex Cabagnot, who set the pace for San Miguel with 26 points.
“I’m glad that we got our bearings together and came out with the W.”
But even if they’re seen as the superior team as the defending four-time all-Filipino champions, and are definitely gunning for more, the 36-year-old gunslinger still sees his Beermen as the underdogs in the series.
Prior to their semifinal clash, San Miguel had actually bowed to Phoenix, 93-96, in their elimination round meeting last March 16 in Panabo City, Davao del Sur. That same victory had enabled the Fuel Masters to seal the top seed for the playoffs.
Add to that the fact that SMB came into the playoffs as the sixth seed, and without the luxury of rest, unlike Phoenix. San Miguel had gone through a best-of-three quarterfinal series versus the TNT KaTropa that went to the limit.
“Phoenix is a very tough opponent. They’re the number one seed,” the seven-time PBA champion stressed.
“So in my opinion, we’re still the underdog.”
Given that, the 14-year veteran is expecting a huge fightback from the Fuel Masters come Game Two on Monday, April 15, at SMART Araneta Coliseum.
“I’m glad we played well today, pero today is gonna be different from Monday. So every day is different, so hopefully, we can just watch film and try to get some pointers and insights so we could capitalize on certain situations.”
