Poise was simply the difference as San Miguel turned back Magnolia, 104-102, to annex the PBA Season 48 Commissioner’s Cup title, Wednesday night.
Chris Ross nailed the go-ahead three-pointer with 1:27 left to play, before CJ Perez struck a back-breaking trey of his own moments later.
The Beermen eventually completed the comeback after being down by double-digits.
The league’s winningest franchise has now won its 29th championship overall, much to the joy of their faithful that trooped to the SMART Araneta Coliseum.
Furthermore, it is SMB’s second title in four conferences as the crew once again beat the team it took down in the 2018 and 2019 Philippine Cup Finals.
“They just didn’t give up,” said head coach Jorge Gallent, who won his first title as the club’s chief bench tactician. “They wanted to win now. They just showed how composed they are even when we were down. They didn’t panic.”
Perez finished with 28 points, spiked by three triples, on the way to earning his first PBA Press Corps Finals Most Valuable Player award.
Bennie Boatwright overcame his shooting struggles and flirted with a triple-double as he produced 19 points, 13 rebounds, and eight assists.
June Mar Fajardo delivered 19 points as well alongside 12 rebounds, leading SMB’s charge in the first half that saw him score 17.
Jericho Cruz supplied 12 points while Don Trollano added 10 markers.
The tandem finally won a championship together with their Adamson Soaring Falcons family in teammate Rodney Brondial and consultant Leo Austria.
The win, however, didn’t come that easy for Gallent’s wards, with the Hotshots coming within just a solitary point, 103-102, following Aris Dionisio’s triple from the top of the key with 20.1 seconds to spare.
Making matters worse for San Miguel was Perez missing both of his free throws afterwards, but Cruz was there to haul down the offensive board.
Cruz was fouled to freeze the clock but he, too, missed his first shot from the foul line. He then managed to knock down the second to widen the gap to two – and to settle the eventual final score – with 1.6 seconds left to play.
The Hotshots could no longer talk things over for a play as they did not have any timeouts left, and Dionisio’s heave missed as time expired.
Wasted by the loss that extended the franchise’s title drought to 10 conferences was the effort of Paul Lee, who finished with 25 points on four triples.
Tyler Bey made 18 points and eight rebounds. Ian Sangalang had 16 points. Jio Jalalon registered 12 points and nine boards, while Mark Barroca added 11.
The Scores:
San Miguel 104 – Perez 28, Boatwright 19, Fajardo 19, Cruz 12, Trollano 10, Ross 9, Tautuaa 4, 9, Enciso 2, Teng 1, Lassiter 0.
Magnolia 102 – Lee 25, Bey 18, Sangalang 16, Jalalon 12, Barroca 11, Dela Rosa 9, Dionisio 7, Abueva 4, Tratter 0, Escoto 0.
Quarterscores: 22-26, 46-51, 73-82, 104-102.
