As has been the norm, the history-seeking starting five of the San Miguel Beermen played a huge part in their 111-87 victory over the Magnolia Hotshots in Game Three of the 2018 Philippine Cup Finals on Easter Sunday at a jam-packed SMART Araneta Coliseum.
But plenty of credit should also go to their bench, as they were the ones who provided the spark that led to their late breakaway.
With June Mar Fajardo, Alex Cabagnot, and Chris Ross on the bench in the final frame, the trio of Brian Heruela, Gabby Espinas, and Matt Ganuelas-Rosser stepped up and made sure that the three could sit back and relax.
The troika, who shared the floor with Arwind Santos and Marcio Lassiter, played a huge role in San Miguel’s 17-3 explosion en route to a 92-71 lead with 6:18 left to play — the run that downed Magnolia once and for all.
Heruela finished with 11 points, Espinas made nine markers, and Ganuelas-Rosser chipped in five points and six rebounds. The Beermen received a total of 33 bench points — truly a huge lift. Prior to this game, San Miguel’s bench had finished with just one point in Game One, while combining for 24 points in Game Two.
“The second unit… Sila ang nag-trabaho, that’s why I opted to let them stay until the last few minutes,” said San Miguel head coach Leo Austria.
“If they keep on stepping up every game, I’m confident na every game pwede kami manalo.”
“The bench played tremendous tonight. They gave us a lot of energy,” added Lassiter, who emerged as the top scorer with 24 points spiked by five treys.
“Credit talaga sa mga teammates ko, lalo na sa second group. Nag-step up talaga sila kaya nakapag-pahinga kaming first group,” lauded Fajardo, who still had his usual numbers of 21 points and 17 rebounds along with two assists.
They may have earned a lot of praise, but for the second unit — especially Heruela and Espinas — they had simply done their part, so that their Fab Five could rest much longer on the bench and be fresh for the next game.
“We’re just trying to bring the energy up, the intensity, give our first group of guys a good rest,” said the 5-foot-10 Heruela.
“Good thing we were able to execute, put some points on the board and contribute to our team.”
“Pag nakaka-produce kami sa opensa, nakaka-depensa kami, mas humahaba yung pahinga nung first group namin eh,” said the 36-year-old Espinas, a 12-year league veteran.
“Kailangan ma-maintain lang namin yun.”
