Game on Sunday
(Smart Araneta Coliseum)
7:30 p.m. – TNT vs San Miguel (Finals Game 1)
San Miguel Beermen (SMB) is out to re-establish its old kingdom while TNT is bent on finally joining the elite PBA grand slam club.
With this as a major driving force, the Beermen and the Tropang 5G get set for an incendiary dispute for the coveted crown in the Season 49-ending Philippine Cup beginning on Sunday.
“First thing, we’re not up here just to stop their (TNT’s grand slam) quest but we’re here to win another championship,” SMB coach Leo Austria said after earning the right to face reigning Governors’ Cup and Commissioner’s Cup king TNT with a 100-93 Game 7 win over Barangay Ginebra.
Mr. Austria, who returned to the San Miguel helm in the Commissioner’s Cup after yielding the floor to Jorge Gallent, said they want to preserve their winning tradition in the league’s centerpiece tournament.
With him at the helm, the Beermen posted a historic All-Filipino five-peat in the 2014-15 season through 2019 then annexed a sixth title in 2022. The squad fell short in last season’s Philippine Cup finale versus Meralco, but under Mr. Gallent.
“In our last six (Philippine Cup) championships, we never lost in the championship (series). And I think that’s the legacy we want to keep and it’s enough motivation for us because we’re up against TNT,” he said.
“TNT is playing well since the first conference and they won in the last two conferences so they’re well motivated. That’s why we have to work really hard to match their energy and determination,” he added.
The Tropang 5G advanced to the finals last Sunday, thanks to their 97-89 Game 6 closeout of Rain or Shine, and had the luxury of extra days of rest and prep time.
Coach Chot Reyes and his entire team watched the broadcast of the SMB-Ginebra semis rubbermatch together during a meeting with PLDT Chairman Manny V. Pangilinan and team governor and PBA Chairman Ricky Vargas.
The TNT franchise had previously come close to achieving a treble in the 2010-11 season. It won the All-Filipino and annexed the Commissioner’s Cup but was denied the Governors’ Cup jewel by San Miguel (then known as Petron).
Now this is the chance for Mr. Reyes and Company to get the triple-crown business done.
Notes: As LA Tenorio strolled out of the Big Dome following Barangay Ginebra’ painful ouster, there’s a cloud of uncertainty hanging over him. “Honestly, I don’t know what’s going happen to me for the next few weeks, few months,” he shared with mediamen. Asked whether he’s considering retirement, the seasoned playmaker who turned 41 that day replied: “We’ll see. You will hear it from me definitely in the next few weeks, if this is really my last game.” Mr. Tenorio saw action for only two minutes Game 7 after turning back the hands of time in an 11-point barrage capped by the game-winning triple that lifted Ginebra to an 88-87 win that forced the 3-3 deadlock in the race-to-four. — Olmin Leyba
