SAN Miguel Beer’s 4-2 semifinal series victory against sister team Barangay Ginebra last Friday thrust the Beermen back into the PBA Philippine Cup Finals, where they are set to face off with long-time corporate rival TNT Tropang 5G.
The Beermen are the winningest franchise in league history with 30 championships.
The charges of coach Leo Austria won its 30th league title in the Season 49 Philippine Cup with TNT as its main victim following SMB’s 4-2 victory in their best-of-seven title series.
San Miguel’s All-Filipino championship conquest denied TNT a grand slam finish considering the team coached by Chot Reyes ruled the two import-spiced conferences in Season 49.
For San Miguel Beer star center June Mar Fajardo, last season’s Philippine Cup title conquest is history, and the coming new Finals series set to start next Wednesday, Jan. 21, begins a new chapter.
“That’s the past, and this is a new series already,” Fajardo said, moments after the Beermen scored a 101-88 win against the Gin Kings to complete their semifinal series victory, 4-2.
TNT reached the Finals first after subduing Meralco in five games in their own semifinal series.
Fajardo, the nine-time league Most Valuable Player and bidding to rewrite history with a potential 12th Best Player of the Conference award soon, recognized that TNT is a formidable foe heading to the Finals.
“We know how tough of an opponent is TNT. They are fast and their outside shooting is on point,” noted Fajardo, who averaged 14.6 points and 19.0 rebounds in their series against Ginebra. “But we will give our best and see what we can give in this series.”
Fajardo will surely face a tougher series against TNT, which has a host of big men who can rotate in defending him.
Evergreen Kelly Williams remains in superb condition at 43, averaging 8.3 points and 4.7 rebounds, while still reliable as ever on the defensive end.
And then, there’s 6-foot-7 Poy Erram, who just a month back, played a key role in Gilas Pilipinas’ title-retention in the Southeast Asian Games men’s basketball in Bangkok, Thailand.
Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser is also another solid big man for Reyes, who averages 9.9 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks for TNT.
TNT’s scoring dynamo Roger Pogoy though is doubtful for the title series after hurting his hamstring during the tailend of the Tropang 5G’s semifinal series against the Meralco Bolts.
Nonetheless, TNT is hungry to win the Philippine Cup since it last captured the prestigious All-Filipino conference in 2021 when it scored a 4-1 Finals series victory against Magnolia.