The road does not get any easier for the San Miguel Beermen and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel
For the fifth time in the pro league’s rich 42 years of existence, the PBA will bear witness to another titanic and storied Ginebra-San Miguel clash — a series sure to sell out and pack venues to the roof.
The very first time both squads met in a title match was all the way back in the 1989 Reinforced Conference, which saw SMB topple Añejo, 4-1. Years after, they met again in the 2001 All-Filipino Cup, still with San Miguel reigning victorious in six games, 4-2.
Six years later, Ginebra finally exacted revenge over their sister team, overcoming a 0-2 deficit to clinch the 2007 Philippine Cup in six games. But in the 2009 Fiesta Conference, SMB defeated the Barangay anew to cop the gold in a seven-game thriller, 4-3.
Now, after eight long years, the Barangay and the Beermen will meet again in another title bout, this time for the 2017 Philippine Cup title in another best-of-seven affair. However, it is not just the crown that both teams seek, but also their franchise’s respective intentions.
The reigning Philippine Cup titlists are heading into the Finals as the heavy favorites. They only have one thing in mind, and that is to win their third straight Philippine Cup crown. Winning this year’s edition will not only secure them a rare three-peat, but also the coveted Perpetual trophy — a feat only achieved by the TNT Katropa
The challengers, Ginebra, on the other hand, are looking to play the villain’s role in the series as they try to halt and spoil SMB’s three-peat aspirations. Not only will they try to beat the Beermen and grab the gold, but the Barangay is also aiming to end their 10-year Philippine Cup championship drought that dates back to 2007.
As the highly-touted Finals match-up between the two teams draws closer, head coaches Tim Cone and Leo Austria weigh in on how the series will go through, with both of them expecting a tough series to unfurl.
“This series will be tough and exciting especially for the fans,” assured Austria in the PBA pre-Finals press conference, Wednesday afternoon at Sambokojin Eastwood.
“At the start of the season powerhouse ang SMB then sabi ko ang kalaban namin laging full house, maganda makikita ng mga manonood sa’min.”
Regarding technical adjustments for the particular series, Austria has a few things in mind, and one of them is limiting star center June Mar Fajardo’s playing time, as he is sure that the 6-foot-9 big man will be the focal point on defense yet again by the opposition.
“Nangyari sa’min sa semifinals, it was good help for our team,” recalled Austria on what they did to Fajardo back in their semis affair with TNT. “Every coach in the PBA, every time makakalaban San Miguel they think on how to stop June Mar.
“Maybe in the Finals we can use that because we learned a lot,” hinted the 58-year-old tactician.
Facing a gutsy Ginebra squad will be a hard task for the defending champions. But for the two-time Coach of the Year, he believes that they have enough tricks left in their sleeve to overcome such.
“Every team nagagawan ng paraan para madala ang championship,” said Austria.
Cone, on the other hand, firmly believes that despite being able to crack into the Finals, facing a team like SMB is a daunting task.
“It means we’ve done something but it means we haven’t accomplished enough,” said Cone.
“It will be a huge uphill climb against SMB.”
However, the 59-year-old is still confident in his wards, saying that Ginebra can match up squarely with the league’s powerhouse.
“Our team can match up against any team,” added the 19-time champion, who is attending his 31st Finals series. “That’s the way we’ve been. We found ways to overachieve, and we’ll find ways to continue to overachieve.
“They’re playing great basketball and [we just have to] find a way to get them uncomfortable.”
The San Miguel-Ginebra Philippine Cup Finals best-of-seven series will raise its curtains on Friday, February 24, 7:00 PM at the SM Mall of Asia Arena.
