RENALDO Balkman of San Miguel screams after connecting a three-point play during Game 5 of their Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven finals showdown with Ginebra last Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. ROMAN PROSPERO The vaunted dynasty of San Miguel Beer is teetering on the brink of a massive collapse when it battles Ginebra in crucial Game 6 of their Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup best-of-seven championship series today at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The dramatic showdown begins at 7 pm with the Beermen out to forge a winner-take-all Game 7 on Friday at the Philippine Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan.

Winner of six of the last 10 PBA conferences, the mighty San Miguel suddenly got dragged into the brink of elimination with a 2-3 series deficit after a pair of tough losses, including an 83-87 defeat in Game 5 last Sunday.

San Miguel had the chance to seize a 3-2 lead with a five-point lead, 83-78, in the last three minutes before being blanked the rest of the way en route to painful loss which that put them in an unfamiliar territory for the first time.

Despite the setback, head coach Leo Austria remains unfazed.

“Well, we’re not yet out. I think the chance is still there,” said Austria, who is looking to keep his undefeated finals record with the Beermen since 2016.

“We need to win just two games to defend our title and we’re capable. They beat us two in a row and it might be our turn to have another two in a row.”

Under Austria, the Beermen have never lost in the finals in their first six attempts, demolishing their counterparts in convincing fashion with the most recent was 4-1 win over Magnolia in the Philippine Cup.

San Miguel, however, is on the opposite side now with an unusual 2-3 series deficit against an equally-talented Ginebra squad.

Good thing for the reigning champions, the Beermen have been here once when they fought back from a deeper hole, which was a 0-3 deficit against Alaska in the 2016 Philippine Cup.

“I hope the players realize, there’s no time to relax. Our backs are against the wall. It’s mind over matter now,” said Austria, looking to duplicate their 4-3 comeback win dubbed as the “Beeracle” over Alaska two years ago.

To do that, Austria will be banking on import Renaldo Balkman and Best Player of the Conference June Mar Fajardo after leading their attack in Game 5 with 34 and 23 points, respectively.

The Beermen will need more from their misfiring support crew led by Alex Cabagnot, Chris Ross and Arwind Santos who bled for just five, three and two points, respectively.

But San Miguel’s Game 7 bid would not be a walk in the park, especially against the Kings who are eager to wrap up the series to finally clinch their first Commissioner’s Cup title in 21 years.

More importantly, Ginebra is looking to become the first squad to topple San Miguel, which has never been beaten in the finals in the last four years.

“We’re going to go for it. Obviously, we don’t want to go to a Game 7. Now that we have the advantage, we don’t want to go to Game 7 with San Miguel because they’re just too good and too explosive,” said head coach Tim Cone.

Cone is not putting his guard down, emphasizing that the closeout game is the hardest to win.

“We can win a championship but we still got one more to win. Closeout games are the hardest ones to win. They’re harder to win than Game 7 because of the ferocity of the other team,” he said.

“They’re trying to stay alive and the other team as ha lot more at stake. They know it’s do or die. They’re going to bring it all.”