Culture of winning: Teamwork, camaraderie key San Miguel triumph

It appears that San Miguel Beer had already cracked the code on how to win the Philippine Cup in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

The Beermen had once again proven that they are the kings of all-Filipino tournament when they beat TNT Tropang 5G, 92-77, in Game 6 to wrap up their best-of-seven finals series before a capacity crowd late Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

It was the Beermen’s 12th Philippine Cup crown, eighth in the last 11 years, making them the league’s most successful franchise when no foreign player is around.

But for Beermen head coach Leo Austria, closing out the series was never easy as key players like June Mar Fajardo, Chris Ross, Rodney Brondial, and Jericho Cruz are all nursing various injuries.

“It’s not only June Mar. A lot of players were not feeling well — Chris Ross, Rodney, Jericho,” said Austria, the architect of 8 of the Beermen’s 12 Philippine Cup titles.

“But knowing June Mar, he’s been dealing with injuries since his first championship.”

Ranged against a field that is eager to knock the all-Filipino crown off their heads, the Beermen banked on their teamwork and camaraderie to stay afloat. They topped the eliminations with a 9-2 win-loss card before making short work of NLEX in the quarterfinals to coast to the semifinals.

In the Final Four, they were stacked with a powerhouse foe in sister team Barangay Ginebra, now bannered by the young core of Scottie Thompson, RJ Abarrientos, Troy Rosario and Stephen Holt.

It took a CJ Perez historic explosion in Game 6 before the Beermen could ward off the Kings in their best-of-seven semifinal series.

Perez fired 30 of his career-high 41 points in the first quarter to lead the Beermen to a series-clinching 101-88 win over the Kings and arrange a final duel against a healthy, well-prepared and hungry Tropang 5G squad.

After losing Game 1, 91-96, the Beermen stormed back in Games 2 and 3 before bowing in Game 4 in embarrassing fashion, 87-110. The Beermen bounced back in Game 5, 96-82, before going for the kill in Game 6 with Fajardo dropping monster numbers of 29 points and 23 rebounds and Perez chipping in 19 markers to capture the title.

Austria said they kept things simple in the second half, allowing them to drop a decisive 12-0 bomb that doomed the chances of the Tropang 5G.

“We went back to the basics, especially on defense. They were able to chase us and cut the lead to two points but I told the players that we were still leading and all we needed was to regroup,” Austria said.

“Our defense became stronger, which forced them to commit a lot of turnovers. We were also able to stop Calvin Oftana. That’s the character of our players, especially Chris Ross. He guarded Oftana almost single-handedly.”

Fajardo agrees with Austria, saying that winning the crown wasn’t easy due to the amount of pressure and expectations that go with the winning tradition of the league’s winningest and lone pioneer franchise.

“There were a lot of adversities this conference. But we know the culture of San Miguel and the winning ways of this franchise,” said Fajardo, who emerged with the Ramon Fernandez Finals Most Valuable Player trophy.

“Before we came here, we already knew the legacy. We’re here to continue that, to represent San Miguel, especially in the Finals. It’s always an honor to play for this team.” Perez, now a four-time champion, said they couldn’t let the opportunity to win back-to-back titles easily slip away.

“All of us wanted to win the championship and this was our opportunity,” said Perez, whose scoring outburst perfectly complemented the dominance of the 6-foot-10 Fajardo in the shaded lanes.

“We just grabbed it and I’m just happy that we were able to win it.”