San Miguel Beermen center June Mar Fajardo.-PBA IMAGES
The manner of how it completed a four-game sweep of Rain or Shine to reach the PBA Philippine Cup Finals is a reason enough for San Miguel Beer to feel ecstatic.
“Four more wins, baby!” Chris Ross shouted at cellphone cameras filming the scenes after the Beermen’s 107-100 win Friday at Mall of Asia Arena despite a 19-point deficit.
San Miguel’s entry to the biggest stage, which has become quite the habit lately for the PBA’s winningest ballclub, has given the loaded lineup enough time to recharge their batteries while waiting for the Barangay Ginebra and Meralco to conclude the other semis pairing.
READ: PBA: San Miguel ousts Rain or Shine to complete sweep, enter Finals
Ginebra and Meralco break their 2-2 tie at 6:15 p.m. Sunday at the same venue, with the winner moving closer to a date with San Miguel for the most important prize of the PBA season.
“We can’t do anything right now because we don’t know who’s gonna win that series,” said coach Jorge Gallent. “We’re just gonna do what we keep on doing, which is work on [our] offense and get better on defense, while waiting for the other team.”
No quitting
A showdown with Ginebra will mark the second straight conference that the championship will be contested by two teams under the San Miguel Corporation (SMC) banner, with San Miguel defeating Magnolia last February in the Commissioner’s Cup.
The Beermen have dominated the Gin Kings throughout Season 48, winning all five meetings including a three-game sweep of the Commissioner’s Cup semifinals.
Facing Meralco may give San Miguel enough motivation, after its quest for an unprecedented 11-game sweep of the eliminations was thwarted by the Bolts in an out-of-town encounter in Batangas City a few weeks ago.
There was plenty of shouting and muscle flexing inside the locker room as San Miguel completed the “third step” in its mission this conference.
READ: PBA: June Mar Fajardo picks best time to bounce back for San Miguel
The Beermen inched their way back against an Elasto Painters side hoping to extend the series to a Game 5, eventually completing the job with June Mar Fajardo and CJ Perez knocking down the key baskets.
“The players did not quit,” said Gallent. “They really wanted to end the series now, that’s why they played really hard entering the fourth quarter. So kudos to them, they really played hard and helped one another inside.”
It will be the 18th straight conference that a SMC team will be in the Finals, with the Beermen having been to eight those, winning all but one.
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At stake for the Beermen would be a pseudo-Grand Slam of winning titles in a season reduced to a two-conference format.