TNT team manager Jojo Lastimosa congratulated Jericho Cruz, Chris Ross, and the entire San Miguel team for winning the PBA 49th Season Philippine Cup finals.
Lastimosa said the Beermen proved that the team is not just a June Mar Fajardo squad as players such as Cruz and Ross delivered when it mattered most.
READ: Jericho Cruz caps contentious series with PBA Finals MVP award
“Congrats to SMB for claiming the All-Filipino championship once more,” said Lastimosa on Saturday.
“We saw that SMB won not by June Mar [Fajardo] dominating but with new guys Jericho and [Don] Trollano as different makers. Old hands Ross and [Marcio] Lassiter were steady the whole series.”
San Miguel captured the PBA Philippine Cup title on Friday night after beating TNT, 107-96, with Cruz bagging the Finals MVP.
The series was a colorful one even off the court.
After Cruz had 23 points in Game 4, Lastimosa chided the San Miguel player for ‘showboating’ and even saying that ‘he has problems.’ The two were once together with NLEX before Lastimosa moved to TNT and Cruz to San Miguel in 2022.
Lastimosa also criticized Ross after Game 4 saying that 'he is not a nice guy' and a 'complainer.'
READ: Jolas hits out at Chris Ross after Game 4: 'He's not a nice guy'
For this moment, however, Lastimosa gave credit to where it is due, as Cruz and Ross were among the players that helped galvanized San Miguel into a complete unit.
“I always believed that in the finals the team that can manufacture points in different areas can have a great advantage and SMB did that. It takes a team to win a championship and SMB won it by having players contribute in so many ways,” said Lastimosa.
Lastimosa also congratulated San Miguel sports director Alfrancis Chua and head coach Leo Austria for the championship.
Even after winning two titles this 49th season and falling two wins short of a Grand Slam, Lastimosa said the recent defeat will also serve as motivation for TNT to do better in the next campaign.
“Congrats to Boss Alfrancis. I agree 100 percent that a celebration is in order having won four games. SMB was the better team this time and I don't have any problems losing a championship knowing that the other team is better. This gives our team more motivation to go at it again," he said.
“To the coaching staff of SMB, to Coach Leo, being back at the helm, Congratulations."
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