Joint Mixers, Boosters dinner
IT WAS way past midnight Friday by the time the victorious San Mig Coffee Mixers were able to leave the Smart-Araneta Coliseum to celebrate their hard-earned PBA Governors’ Cup title.
Game 7 of the title series between the Mixers and the Petron Blaze Boosters started late, ending at about half past 10, followed by the awarding ceremonies, then the traditional dousing in the dugout.
Not too many people noticed but the vanquished Boosters must have left the Big Dome more or less about the same time the Mixers did, after dousing their tears under the showers.
From the Araneta, the Mixers headed for the Edsa Plaza Hotel in Ortigas Center. Curiously, the Boosters went in the same direction.
Were they also celebrating a runner-up finish? The two teams converged at the Heat Resto Bar, along with the executives of both companies and some fans, prompting one diner to ask a waiter to explain the incomprehensible scenario.
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“Since nobody knew beforehand which of the two teams would win the championship, RSA (San Miguel chieftain Ramon S. Ang) gave instructions to make reservations for both teams for a victory celebration. That’s why the two teams had a joint dinner celebration,” said Rene “Mang Pards” Pardo, San Mig’s governor in the PBA.
It wasn’t the first time RSA had planned something like this said Pardo. He had done it before for the San Miguel Beer team and the team from Indonesia which figured in an ABL championship.
If this particular championship victory appears to be more emotional than others before it, Pardo said that’s because it’s more meaningful to certain members of the team like Pingris, who played his heart out despite a painful sprain and was rewarded with a finals MVP trophy.
Or Tim Cone who became one of the PBA’s two winningest coaches after annexing last Friday’s trophy to his collection.
Tim and coach Virgilio “Baby” Dalupan of the defunct Crispa now have 15 PBA championship trophies each.
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