As the buzzer sounded, Charles Rhodes was kneeling and bending with his head on the floor of the Mall of Asia Arena. The San Miguel Beermen had just won over the Star Hotshots in Game Four, and are now going to the 2017 Commissioner’s Cup Finals for the first time since 2001.
“I got emotional, I almost cried on the court,” recalled the 31-year-old American — who finished with 21 points on 63.6 percent shooting alongside 10 rebounds and two blocks in 34 minutes — of that moment.
Friday night’s victory could not be sweeter for Rhodes, and no one can blame the nine-year journeyman for being caught up with emotions — this will mark the very first time that he will play in a title series.
“Man, it’s overwhelming,” said the Texas-native, who has played in Spain, Turkey, and Korea in the last seven years. “I just wanna thank God for blessing me to get that — this is my first Finals I’ve ever been in my whole career, so it really means a lot to me.
“Words can’t really describe it, but I will go home and celebrate. Celebrate like I’m in high school, man!”
As he has now achieved a great feat in his career, Rhodes did not forget to thank his teammates, who pulled all the necessary stops, especially during the end-game when the Hotshots gave them a serious threat.
“Everybody on the court knew what we had to do. All the players, man.
“All the credit to them, because they stepped up defensively and offensively. And we were rebounding the ball towards the end-game, so that helped us,” said Rhodes.
The Beermen will now wait for the winner of the Ginebra-TNT series for their opponent in the Finals. But for Rhodes, whoever they will face does not matter to him.
“It doesnt matter,” said Rhodes, who averaged 24 points, 9.25 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks in the series. “This is my first Finals ever, so whoever our opponent is, I’m going to give my one hundred and thirty percent.
“It doesn’t matter. I’m coming.”
