Cebuano June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel secures the ball from Alaska’s Calvin Abueva in Game 7 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals. (PBA IMAGES)
San Miguel completes historic comeback from 0-3 deficit, wins second straight PBA PH Cup crown
The San Miguel Beermen completed the greatest comeback in league history as they thwarted the Alaska Aces, 96-89, in the deciding Game 7 of the PBA Philippine Cup last night at the Mall of Asia Arena.
In doing so, the Beermen rewrote history as they became the first team in the PBA to crawl back from a 0-3 deficit and win a best-of-seven series. The Philippine Cup crown was also their second in a row and their 22nd championship overall, making them the winningest team in the league.
Additionally, no team in recorded professional basketball history has ever achieved the feat. Only four other teams have achieved the same in other sports. The last time it was done was in 2010 when the Philadelphia Flyers overtook the Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League playoffs.
The night ultimately belonged to the Beermen, who got off to a fast start and eventually imposed their will in the third period, where they outscored the Aces, 25-13, to open up 68-51 lead heading to the last 12 minutes of action.
And though the Aces tried to make a game out of it and pulled to within five, 72-77, with 6:18 to go, the Beermen just had an answer for everything Alaska threw at them as veteran forward Arwind Santos sank a three-pointer before wily guard Chris Ross sank back-to-back lay-ups to push the lead back to a dozen, 84-72, under five minutes remaining.
Reigning league MVP and proud Cebuano June Mar Fajardo made sure his return from a knee injury would not be for naught as he scored a double-double of 21 points and 15 rebounds. Ross also saved his best for last, pitching in 21 points spiked by four three-pointers. The game-changing guard was eventually named as the Finals MVP.
Marcio Lassiter added 15 including several free-throws down the stretch to seal the win and the crown while Santos authored a double-double of his own with 13 and 10 boards.
Chris Banchero paced Alaska with 21 points. However, Vic Manuel, the Aces’ leading scorer, was held down to just three on 1-of-7 shooting.
The Aces got off to a conspicuous start as head coach Alex Compton called three straight timeouts a second into the game. He did not give any instructions in the huddle and just let his players warm up a little more.
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