ALEX Cabagnot declined to take much of the credit for San Miguel's gripping Game Seven victory over Magnolia on Wednesday night, saying the Beermen's final two defensive stands were far more important than his marginal basket.
Cabagnot capped his game-long brilliance with the fadeaway shot with 57.2 seconds left that turned out to be the game-winner as the Beermen secured a 72-71 win and an unprecedented fifth straight all-Filipino title.
But the 36-year-old Cabagnot was quick to play down his late-game heroics.
“That shot didn’t literally win the ball game,” said Cabagnot. “We made some defensive stops with our best defensive lineup. In the championship, defense wins games. It started with the last two possessions defensively.”
Cabagnot topscored for the Beermen as he scored a team-high 18 points as he atoned for his three-point production in the Game Six loss.
“Those shots, I was taking those same shots in Game Six,” said Cabagnot. “It was not going in but the best part is that we win.
“Couldn’t dwell on that. It’s too fast of a turnaround to dwell. I just had to stick with my routine and stay positive to have positive results,” he added.
The eight-time champion said the 2019 Philippine Cup is right up there as the one of the toughest title he had won.
“Out of eight, it’s one of them at the top. We came back from 17 points down. Just the situation. Down 17 points, our shots weren’t falling in and we were committing careless turnovers,” said the SMB guard.
"We had to just regroup, stay positive, and play hard and sticking to the game plan."
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