The San Miguel Beermen staked their claim as the greatest all-Filipino team the PBA has ever seen
After one of the most dominant elimination round outings in league history and surviving the TNT Katropa in a grueling seven game series, the San Miguel Beermen did not let up in a pressure-packed Game Five, outlasting the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 91-85, to seal their third straight PBA Philippine Cup championship, Sunday evening at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
With Sunday night’s win, the Beermen have finally secured their third straight Philippine Cup title — their seventh All-Filipino crown and their 23rd overall — and became the second team next to TNT, who won the title from 2011 to 2013, to claim the coveted, half-a-million-valued Perpetual Trophy.
“Palagay ko makakapagpahinga na tayo pare-pareho. It’s about time for us to have a short leave,” said San Miguel head coach Leo Austria, who has yet to lose a Finals series. “It was not an easy win for us, but ang players namin, sabi ko sa inyo, ang body language nila is different. Kundisyon sila, and this is what happened.”
Chris Ross was clearly San Miguel’s leader all through out, whose all-around performance of 12 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds, and six steals not only anchored the Beermen’s well-deployed attack, but also earned him the Cignal-PBA Press Corps Finals Most Valuable Player award, averaging 17.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 9.2 assists, and 1.28 steals during the series.
“Since we won a championship last year and he told me, ‘Coach I want to play, I want to win.’ Nakilala ko siya [dahil dun]. He’s a fighter,” Austria remarked about the Filipino-American guard. “He has a lot of things to prove. He wants to win.”
The 6-foot-3 point guard took over in the payoff period. Ross was in control of the frame alone, forcing Ginebra to commit turnovers as he stripped the ball four times. Not only did he unleash his defensive prowess, but his skill in scoring was shown in the best of times.
After June Mar Fajardo made a bucket and Alex Cabagnot split his charities to help widen SMB’s lead, 87-83, Ross made a tough putback reverse with 47 seconds left to keep Ginebra at bay, 89-83. Joe Devance tried to will Ginebra back, but his triple missed. Ross then emphatically grabbed the rebound.
Ross then dished it out to Cabagnot, who saw Arwind Santos open near the rim. Cabagnot quickly threw it to Santos, who then finished it with a slam — a dunk that proved to be the exclamation point in SMB’s pending victory. And as the final buzzer sounded, the Beermen have finally made it and reigned victorious.
“I would like to congratulate coach Tim Cone and thank Ginebra for the gallant effort na dinisplay nila for the playoffs,” a grateful Austria said.
Santos and Fajardo both made their presence felt, each contributing 21 markers on a combined 15-of-22 shooting from the floor. Santos hit 5-of-7 from downtown along with eight rebounds, while Fajardo added six boards to their personal statlines.
Cabagnot, who played from the middle part of the eliminations all the way to the Finals with a fractured nose, supplied 18 points despite shooting just 8-of-19. Marcio Lassiter chipped in 12 points by going 5-of-9 from the field.
“I’ve been criticized a lot before for using these key players, they’re averaging 36 mintues in the elims, and in the finals it went up to 38 minutees, but the one thing na positive dito sa five key players, both on offense and defense, nagwo-work sila,” Austria added.
Japeth Aguilar paced the Barangay with 26 points on 11-of-25 shooting along with 16 rebounds for a double-double. Devance also finished with a double-double of 20 markers and 12 boards, while Sol Mercado filled up the stat sheet with 20 points, nine rebounds, and six assists.
SMB shot a notable 52 percent from the floor, hitting 36 of their 69 tries — 10 of those coming from beyond the arc. They also capitalized on Ginebra’s 17 turnovers, converting it to 31 points. However, the Barangay dominated the boards, 57-29, and scored better off second chances, 25-11.
The PBA returns on March 17 for the Commissioners Cup.
The Scores:
San Miguel (91) – Fajardo 21, Santos 21, Cabagnot 18, Lassiter 12, Ross 12, Espinas 4, Tubid 3, De Ocampo 0.
Ginebra (85) – Aguilar 26, Devance 20, Mercado 20, Tenorio 10, Marcelo 4, Thompson 3, Caguioa 2, Ferrer 0.
Quarterscores: 27-21, 51-41, 63-61, 91-85.
