THE CLASSIC PUMP FAKE. Troy Rosario of TNT goes for this shot as SMB’s Arwind Santos lies in wait for a possible block. PBA MEDIA BUREAU
Head coach Leo Austria and the San Miguel Beermen may have had some time off to regroup before the much awaited best of 7 finals of the PBA Philippine Cup, against the winner of the Ginebra San Miguel-Purefoods Star Hotshots clash. But this certainly doesn’t mean they’ve lightened up or slackened their grip on gunning for the highly coveted crown.
In game 7, “San Mi-guel Beer’s Super Five all came through relentlessly as they trampled the TNT KaTropa, 96-83, which was missing the services of ace skipper Jason Castro to nail the first spot in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals last Monday at the MOA Arena.
June Mar Fajardo, Arwind Santos, Chris Ross, Alex Cabagnot and Marcio Lassiter were Iron Men powering SMB past TNT in their do-or-die setto and into the best-of-seven finals versus the winner of the Barangay Ginebra-Star matchup. Fajardo churned out 22 points and 19 rebounds in his 15th double-double job in 19 games in the tourney, Santos came through with 20 markers and 12 boards in his own double-double effort while Ross (with 18 markers, 10 assists and six boards) had a close shave with a triple-double performance. Cabagnot and Lassiter came up with their double-digit productions with 14 and 12 points, respectively, as SMB completed a come-from-behind win versus TNT and earned a crack at an all-Filipino three-peat. “I would like to congratulate the TNT organization especially coach Nash Racela. Tala-gang pinalabas nila kung anong meron kami,” said San Miguel coach Leo Austria.
Austria and his team advanced to the finale for the fourth time in the last seven conferences. The league’s winningest ball club, San Miguel will be shooting for a seventh all-Filipino crown and 23rd overall. The Beermen are on line to match the Texters’ Philippine Cup three-peat set in 2011-13.
In Game Seven, Austria had to play all his starters almost without rest. Santos, Cabagnot, Ross and Lassiter all played over 40 minutes. Fajardo had the least playing time at 38:31. “It’s the last game of the series. Bukas makakapahinga na sila,” said Austria. Castro was helpless behind the TNT bench with a strained left hamstring suffered Saturday. Sans Castro, the Texters put up a decent stand in the first half before falling behind by 20 from which they failed to recover. The Beermen unleashed a 12-4 start in the final half to make their first major separation in the contest at 53-43. They then zoomed to a lead as big as 20 and held onto a safe margin all the way to the end. “Hindi ko alam kung ano nangyari sa third quarter. Bigla kaming nakawala at nagderecho-derecho na,” said Austria. “From the start, I knew this would be a tough series because the two teams have equal talents. We’re a bit fortunate they missed Troy Rosario in Game Six then Jason Castro tonight,” Austria also said.
In the event Barangay Ginebra wins vs. the Purefoods Star Hotshots, the Beermen will be up against a very formidable and ‘never say die’ team led by veterans and versatile rookies namely Jay-Jay Helterbrand and Mark Caguioa, LA Tenorio, Japeth Aguilar and Mindanao sensation Scottie Thompson.
If the Star Hotshots come out with the victory, another dynamic squad will be pitted against San Miguel with the likes of Marc Pingris, former University of Mindanao hotshot Peter June Simon and prized trade off Paul Lee.
‘We are like, we play better when we have our backs against the wall. It seems that we don’t like it if we have a comfortable lead. I don’t know why, parang gusto namin nahihirapan kami. I think we play better that way. I honestly think we do.” Ex-PBA MVP Helterbrand was quoted as saying following their masterful conquest of Purefoods in game 6.
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