The latest title bid of the winningest franchise in Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) history is over.
San Miguel Beer will not even make it to the semifinals of the PBA Season50 Commissioner’s Cup after a surprise one-game elimination by Rain or Shine in the quarterfinals — another painful ending to a conference that once again denied the franchise a shot at history.
For all their dominance in the June Mar Fajardo era, one accomplishment continues to elude the Beermen: the coveted grand slam.
In the last 13 seasons of the Kraken era, the Beermen have captured the all-Filipino crown eight times. Eight Philippine Cup championships. Eight opportunities to try and complete what only five teams in the PBA’s 51-year history have ever achieved — winning all three conferences in a single season.
The franchise’s lone grand slam remains the one led by the legendary Ramon Fernandez in 1989.
And still, no success.
Twice, the Beermen came really close. During the 2016-17 and 2019 seasons, San Miguel won the first two conferences and entered the Governors’ Cup carrying legitimate grand slam hopes. Both times, however, Barangay Ginebra slammed the door shut, eliminating San Miguel in the playoffs and ending the dream.
Now, San Miguel will once again have to start from scratch next season. Because in the PBA, you cannot win a grand slam if you fail to win the first conference. That means the Beermen must first defend their Philippine Cup crown — something they have almost always been favored to do during the Fajardo era, but never guaranteed.
Every all-Filipino tournament has come for them with a target on their backs.
And the older Fajardo gets, the tougher every restart becomes.
What makes the repeated failures interesting is that they always happen in import-laden conferences.
Last season’s Commissioner’s Cup was a disaster, with San Miguel parading four different imports and failing to even reach the playoffs. This conference, they brought back Bennie Boatwright Jr., the same reinforcement who powered them to the franchise’s most recent Commissioner’s Cup title in 2024. Yet even that reunion was not enough to keep the Beermen alive.
It raises an obvious question: why has a franchise with virtually unlimited resources failed to establish a dependable resident import the way Barangay Ginebra has with Justin Brownlee or perhaps TNT with Rondae Hollis-Jefferson?
Perhaps San Miguel has no real need for an import big man because Fajardo already occupies the paint, backed up by Mo Tautuaa and Rodney Brondial. But in modern PBA basketball, continuity matters — especially in conferences where chemistry with imports can make or break a title run.
Last year, during Arwind Santos’ birthday celebration, the Beermen’s famous “Death 5” reunited in one place — Santos, Fajardo, Chris Ross, Alex Cabagnot and Marcio Lassiter, the core largely responsible for San Miguel’s dynastic run.
I happened to be there that night.
At one point, I asked Fajardo what else was left for him to accomplish considering his résumé already includes nine Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, 13 Best Player of the Conference awards, five Finals MVPs, 12 championships and countless records.
His answer came instantly.
“Grand slam.”
No hesitation. No long explanation.
At 36 years old, time is no longer something even the Kraken can overpower forever. Injuries have already tested him in recent years, and some of the current Beermen are also no longer getting younger. Ross is already 41 and Lassiter is turning 40 next year.
The question now is whether San Miguel Beer can still build one final championship sweep around the greatest player of this generation — and give Fajardo the one achievement that continues to escape him.
Only time will tell.
