This time, there’s no stopping the San Miguel Beermen from popping the champagne bottles, releasing confetti and celebrating their 11th Philippine Cup crown.
The fans rejoiced on a wet and drizzly Friday evening at the Philsports Arena in Pasig after CJ Perez scored the final basket for the Beermen with 1:52 left and eventually sealed a 107-96 triumph over the TNT Tropang 5G.
Junemar Fajardo was an unstoppable force in Game 6 of the 49th Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup best-of-seven finals as he carved out 10 of his game-high 24 points in a decisive third quarter run.
CJ Perez also had 24 points, and he made 14 in the second period as the Beermen took a 52-47 halftime edge.
Jericho Cruz, who earned the Finals MVP honors, eked out nine of 13 points during the pivotal third period for the Beermen.
The Beermen, who got 12 points from Don Trollano, finished the series with 4-2 lead, and denied the Tropang 5G a chance to claim a 49th season sweep.
The Tropang 5G, getting 19 points from Calvin Oftana, earlier won the Governors’ Cup and Commissioners Cup crowns at the expense of the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Gin Kings.
“It’s the hard work of these players that won the championship for us,” said Beermen coach Leo Austria after San Miguel won their second title since their last head-to-head finals battle in the 47th Philippine Cup.
Back then, the Beermen finished the finals series with a 4-3 lead, and a 119-97 triumph in Game 7 over TNT.
For Austria, who coached the team from 2014 to 2022, has steered the team to 10 PBA championships out of the 11 finals appearances.
