Grandslam bid denied as Beermen rule Phl Cup

San Miguel finally popped open the cold celebratory beers that should’ve been consumed two nights prior.

A brutal third quarter storm by the Beermen hit the TNT Tropang 5G square in the bread basket for the 107-96 knockout win in Game 6 of the best-of-seven finals to reign supreme in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup Friday night at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Towering June Mar Fajardo played an almost perfect game at the perfect time as San Miguel captured its 30th title overall and 11th all-Filipino crown.

The 12-time Best Player of the Conference nailed his first nine attempts to finish with 24 points on an 11-of-12 field goal shooting and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Beermen, who for the second time in 14 years denied head coach Chot Reyes and TNT of completing a grand slam.

Fajardo, an eight-time Most Valuable Player, went 5-of-5 from the field in the third quarter as San Miguel outscored the Tropang 5G, 34-20, in the decisive canto.

TNT, playing sans injured players Jayson Castro (knee), Rey Nambatac (groin), Poy Erram (meniscus) and Simon Enciso (fractured orbital bone), made a desperate resistance in the fourth but was already in too deep to recover.

CJ Perez finished with 24 markers, Jericho Cruz added 13 points while Don Trollano and Mo Tautuaa got 12 and 10 markers, respectively, for the Beermen’s return to glory following a fall from grace after missing the playoffs of the Commissioner’s Cup.

Perez found his rhythm in the second quarter after a quiet opening period, scoring 14 points highlighted by a perfect 2-for-2 on the four-point area to give the Beermen enough breathing room in the game that started tight.

Trailing, 23-25, to open the second period, San Miguel’s bench mob kept TNT from pulling away as Perez operated to build the team’s momentum and set the tone for the eventual blowout.

Meanwhile, Glenn Khobuntin wrote his name on the PBA record books after playing his 75th game – the most outings of a player in a single season.

The TNT forward subbed in for Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser with 9:04 left to officially reach the milestone, surpassing current TNT team manager Jojo Lastimosa’s 74 he tallied while playing for the legendary Alaska team back in 1995.

Calvin Oftana led TNT with 19 points, Kelly Williams had 17, Ganuelas-Rosser added 15 while Jordang Heading scored 13.