Brian Heruela will always be grateful for his time with the storied San Miguel Beermen, with whom he won a total of four PBA championships over a three-year stint from 2015 to 2018.
“It’s great. I’m very thankful for that organization. I learned a lot from that team, [had] a lot of experience winning the championship because we know they’re a championship team, so it taught me a lot,” said the four-year pro.
“From my teammates to the coaches, they were great. They were amazing too. I’m very thankful for them.”
Heruela then brought that wealth of experience to the TNT KaTropa. And now in the 2019 Commissioner’s Cup, he is undoubtedly one of the reasons behind the flagship MVP franchise’s success thus far in the mid-season conference.
Part of that success includes reaching the Finals after five long conferences. The KaTropa made the Big Dance after dethroning the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 103-92, in Game Four of their best-of-seven semifinal series on Thursday night.
“It feels amazing,” said Heruela, who had nine points off the bench. “All conference we’ve been working hard, we’ve been waiting for this day to come. We put in a lot of work as a team. We’re thankful for this opportunity to be in the Finals.
“But we know the job ain’t over. We have another challenge coming up so we just have to be ready.”
That challenge he referred to is, of course, the best-of-seven title bout against either the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters or the Beermen, who are still in control of their series with a 2-1 lead in the race-to-three affair.
This means that it is possible Heruela will face his former team for the championship. Still, for the 30-year-old, it would be fun if ever he and his former brothers cross paths to slug it out for the ultimate prize.
But Heruela was quick to add that they are ready for the challenge from whichever team they will face.
“I think it’s gonna be a lot of fun. We know that they’re a very strong team,” he said.
“We’re up for the challenge. We don’t know yet who we’re gonna face, but if ever we’re gonna face San Miguel, we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
