The reign lives on

Beermen retire Bernardino Trophy, claim 23rd crown

MANILA, Philippines -  San Miguel Beer, behind a far more superior cast led by June Mar Fajardo, validated its claim as the best All-Filipino crew with a decisive win over Ginebra San Miguel, 91-85, establishing a dynastic reign that could last for a time last night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Beermen were simply in control throughout as the oldest ball club put another episode in its winning tradition built around a talented bunch that proved deadly in the series for a 4-1 finish and a three-peat in the Philippine Cup before 20,217 roaring fans.

The Beermen completed an all-Filipino treble and thus retired the perpetual Emilio “Jun” Bernardino Trophy in fending off the Barangay Ginebra Kings’ last stand.

Ginebra’s own hopes for rare back-to-back championships eventually vanished on Chris Ross’ two crucial hustle plays that sealed the Beermen’s conquest of the Gin Kings in their best-of-seven title showdown.

Ross scored on a reverse layup from an offensive rebound and set up Arwind Santos for an emphatic two-handed jam that made it 91-83 with time down to 20 seconds.

Multi-colored balloons rained from the Big Dome catwalk as the Beermen and their fans began to celebrate  their third straight All-Filipino crown that made them the second recipient of the Bernardino Cup after TNT KaTropa in 2013.

The league’s winningest franchise bagged its seventh all-Filipino crown overall. It also has 16 championships won in import-flavored tourneys.

Ross actually made the biggest impact in the whole series and, in the end, was named the  Cignal Finals MVP.

The Fil-Am guard from Marshall U came through with 12 points, 10 assists, eight rebounds and six steals in a sterling all-around performance in Game Five. And he wound up with series averages of 17.2 markers, 9.6 dish-offs and 5.2 boards.

“It’s all about sacrifice. That’s how you win three championships in a row,” said Ross.

“Arwind (Santos) was MVP when June Mar came in and he settled for secondary role. Marcio can do a lot of damage but stuck to his role. Even the guys on the bench did their sacrifices. Gabby (Espinas) can be a starter on other teams. Same with Ronald (Tubid). But we all sacrificed for the betterment of the team,” Ross also said.

“I have to give it to Ross. He’s really a fighter. Halos hindi ko na sya nilabas kanina because I trust him so much,” said SMB coach Leo Austria, who also lauded the other members of his super starting cast.

“Everybody’s saying we have the best starting five in the league. Maybe yes, maybe no. One sure thing is their great camaraderie,” Austria said.

Fajardo and Santos came up with 21 points each, Cabagnot contributed 18 markers while Lassiter added 12 in their series-clinching win.

The Beermen located their shooters and hit their shots in a solid start leading to a 51-41 lead at the half.

Fajardo collected 12 points from around the paint while the SMB gunners combined for a 7-of-13 three-pointers as they negated Japeth Aguilar’s 15 points and Joe Devance’s 12 in the first 24 minutes of play.

Sol Mercado drained a trey, set up Scottie Thompson for his own triple then took a steal and scored on a breakaway layup in an eight-to-nothing blitz that sent the spectators up on their feet as Ginebra charged to within one at 35-36.

San Miguel, however, quickly stopped Ginebra’s momentum with back-to-back steals leading to two free throws by Fajardo then a three-pointer by Santos.

Ross and Alex Cabagnot hit back-to-back treys towards the end to close the half with their 10-point spread.