IT'S just the first playdate of the new season, but San Miguel Beer made sure everybody remembers them as the defending champions.
The Beermen flexed their championship muscles in the clutch to pull off a 96-88 victory over Star to start their title defense on a winning note in the opening game on Sunday of the 2016-17 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The one-two punch of June Mar Fajardo and Alex Cabagnot did the job for most part to lift San Miguel to an early win.
Fajardo, the three-time reigning Most Valuable Player, was his usual dominant self, scoring game-highs of 25 points and 16 rebounds, while Cabagnot scattered 22 points and eight assists in an equally impressive showing.
After trailing 86-77 in the early part of the fourth, the defending champions suddenly went on a beast mode.
The Beermen dropped a decisive 15-0 bomb that turned the tides in their favor as they overtook the stunned Hotshots, 92-86, after a jumper from Fajardo with 3:23 left from where they never looked back.
Star, after going scoreless for less than seven minutes in that stretch, only managed two more points as its meltdown led to its initial loss of the tournament.
The combined efforts of Cabagnot and Fajardo, who combined for 25 points in the opening 24 minutes, in the first half, allowed San Miguel to take a 51-43 headway at the turn.