SAN Miguel successfully regained the PBA’s so-called crown jewel as it thwarted TNT’s grand slam bid by bagging the Philippine Cup championship Friday night at the Philsports Arena.
June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez, and Finals MVP Jericho Cruz sparked the Beermen’s second half breakaway in Game 6 to finally tame a Tropang 5G side down after putting up a gallant fight in the first two quarters.
The Beermen won the best-of-seven series, 4-2, and reclaimed the All-Filipino crown they lost to the Meralco Bolts last year.
At the same time, the SMC group again stood path in TNT’s bid to win a first ever franchise grand slam, having done the same in 2011 when it also foiled the telecommunication team’s shot of completing a season sweep.
As the league’s Season 49 comes to a close, here’s some of the takeaways in the final game of the title series.
1. MAKE THAT TITLE NUMBER 30 FOR SMB
The only remaining pioneer franchise in the history of Asia’s first ever play-for-pay league just won its 30th championship as it celebrates its golden anniversary.
San Miguel continues to widen its gap as far as won titles are concerned. Its total championships are about double than the second next winningest franchise in Barangay Ginebra with 15. The season’s Philippine Cup crown is also the 11th for the SMC Group and seventh in the last 10 editions.
2.LEO AUSTRIA GETS ANOTHER ONE OVER CHOT REYES
For the second straight time, Austria beat Reyes in a title series for a 2-0 record in their personal, head-to-head matchup. He’s now also up against Reyes for the most number of All-Filipino conference titles won, 7 to 6.
The 67-year-old Austria now owns a total of 10 championships – all with San Miguel – that put him past Jong Uichico at no. 4 in the all-time list. Reyes is currently tied for third place with 11 together with Norman Black.
3. JMF, CHRIS ROSS, MARCIO LASSITER NET 11TH TITLE WITH SMB
Talk about winning championships in a single franchise and the San Miguel trio of June Mar Fajardo, Lasstier, and Ross are in an elite company. Jayson Castro (TNT) and Tito Varela are the only two others to play for one team and win as many titles with 10 each.
They now join Rafi Reavis and the late Chris Bolado in the all-time list of 11 championships won. Another crown by next season would have Fajardo, Ross, and Lassiter tying PBA great Johnny Abarrientos, Joe Devance, and Yancy De Ocampo with 12.
4.CJ SAVES BEST FOR LAST
It wasn’t exactly the best title series performance by Perez, but he chose the perfect time to finally explode.
Struggling for the entire title series, the former NCAA MVP from Lyceum played his best game in the title-clinching series by erupting for 24 points including 14 in an explosive second quarter performance to help propel the Beermen on top by halftime.
Those two four-point shots in the period were backbreakers. For good measure, the 31-year-old wingman added three rebounds, six assists, and a steal. In the six-game series, he averaged a second best 14.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.8 steals.
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