There’s no denying how challenging the 2019 PBA Commisisoner’s Cup has been for the San Miguel Beermen.
Early in the conference, many expected the Beermen to carry over their momentum from winning their fifth straight Philippine Cup title. Instead, they ended up losing five of their first seven games.
That prompted the team to switch imports from Charles Rhodes to Chris McCullough. They hit some strides, but also had to rely on other teams just to reach the playoffs, where they entered as the seventh seed.
But there really is something about the Beermen come playoff time. Though they faced a twice-to-win disadvantage versus the second-seeded NorthPort Batang Pier, they managed to overcome it to reach the semifinals.
Then in the best-of-five semis, the Beermen only needed four games to finish off the young yet gutsy Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to make it all the way to the Big Dance, which appeared a goal too hard to reach at first.
Now they’re in the Finals again, for which Arwind Santos is grateful – particularly after the Beermen’s early struggles in the mid-season joust. The flagship SMC franchise last won this tournament in 2017.
“Sobrang thankful kami kay God na nakapasok kami muli,” Santos said after their 98-95 Game Four win Friday night.
Waiting for them in the best-of-seven title bout, though, are their long-time rivals in top seed TNT. The KaTropa have been nothing short of impressive this conference, with super import Terrence Jones steering the wheel.
For Santos, he feels like their series with the Elasto Painters has helped them prepare for the KaTropa, who dethroned Barangay Ginebra in the semis. Still, he remains wary, pointing out TNT’s stacked offense.
“Yung defense nila na nakukuha namin, pwedeng gawin din ng Talk N Text, kasi ang Rain or Shine sobrang physical defense. Siyempre pagka handa ka na doon, pagdating mo sa Talk N Text, hindi ka na maninibago,” Santos said.
“Kasi tingin ko, mas pisikal dumipensa ang Rain or Shine kaysa sa Talk N Text. Pero hindi natin masabi dahil ang opensa rin ng Talk N Text, napakalakas,” added the 38-year-old forward.
“So kailangan namin paghandaan yun.”
Game One of the San Miguel-TNT series commences this Sunday, August 4, at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. When asked how far he thinks the best-of-seven affair will go, Santos said he would be happy if they pushed it to the limit.
“Ako, umabot lang ng Game Seven, masaya na ‘ko,” said the eight-time PBA champion.
