AFTER more than a decade of trying, Juami Tiongson is bound for the PBA Finals for the first time ever.
The shooting guard finally reached the big stage after San Miguel earned a return trip to the Philippine Cup Finals on the strength of a 100-93 win over Barangay Ginebra in their sudden-death duel at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Tiongson, 34, said he’ll definitely savor his very first appearance in a best-of-seven title series where San Miguel will duke it out with grand slam hopeful TNT.
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“Siyempre ang sarap sa feeling kasi first-ever sa professional career ko, kaya thankful and grateful ako sa opportunity na ibinigay sa akin ng San Miguel,” said Tiongson.
The playmaker out of Ateneo was a first-round pick of Blackwater in the 2014 draft, got relegated to the D-League, and then returned to the PBA via NLEX, which traded him to Terrafirma where he made a name as the one-time face of the franchise.
But he eventually found himself landing at San Miguel following a mid-season trade with the Dyip that also involved Andreas Cahilig for the duo of Terrence Romeo and Vic Manuel.
His initial conference with the Beermen didn’t turn out fine as the team failed to make the playoffs in the Commissioner’s Cup. So he was too ecstatic that finally following a long journey, he now gets a shot at winning a championship.
“Siyempre may setback nitong last conference kasi hindi nga kami nakapag-playoffs, so feeling talaga namin pinaghirapan namin ito kasi kahit gaano kalakas yung team, ang dami na rin naming pinagdaanan. So I guess deserving din naman to be here and hopefully, win a championship,” said Tiongson.
He reserved a big shout out to backcourt partner and team captain Chris Ross for delivering big time as San Miguel’s season hangs on the edge.
“Pinakita niya yung 'Playoff Chris Ross' and for me to be able to witness it was an amazing experience for me,” Tiongson said.
Now TNT stands as the remaining stumbling block in Tiongson’s personal bid to win a breakthrough PBA crown.
“Gunning sila (Tropang 5G) for a grand slam, and it would be nice kung kami sana yung makakapigil sa kanila,” he said.
The all-Filipino finals kick off on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
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