Beermen, Aces shoot for crown

JUNE Mar Fajardo (middle) of San Miguel Beer literally splits the defense of Sonny Thoss (left) and Erik Menk of Alaska in Game 5 of the Philippine Cup Finals that was still being played at press time. AUGUST DELA CRUZ

Players live for these moments; the very existence of teams are defined by these battles.

Fittingly, Alaska and San Miguel Beer decide the PBA Philippine Cup title today in the grandest stage of them all—a Game 7—giving the champion an even more special space in the league’s history books.

Game time is 7 p.m. at the most fabled court of them all, the Smart Araneta Coliseum floor, with all previous stats and results thrown out the window as desire takes over as the greatest barometer of success.

Alaska will come into the game seeking to win for the second straight night and crown itself as the comeback kids of the tournament, while San Miguel will be trying to seal what the pretournament hype on the Beermen was all about.

Defense has been the weapon of choice for the Aces, who have shut down the Beermen to way under 80 points in their three victories. In fact, Alaska has gone 12-0 here when holding foes below that number.

San Miguel, on the other hand, has ridden its rock-solid core to top the elimination round and make the title series by losing just two games. But in this series, the Beermen have learned to win without riding their lifeblood piggy-back style and getting everyone involved.

“This is good for the fans,” San Miguel coach Leo Austria said when reminded of tonight’s rubber match. “They will see a quality game.”

Alaska is no stranger to games like this one. In fact, the Aces pulled out a similar comeback from 2-3 down to clip Talk ‘N Text in the 2007 Fiesta Conference championship.

But this is the all-Filipino, the longest tournament each year and one where local players don’t get help from anyone the whole time, making double the pressure, double the work.

“Nothing is going to be handed to anyone here,” said Alaska skipper Tony dela Cruz.

There have been only 11 out of 33 teams that fell 2-3 in a best-of-seven series and came back to turn the series around.

Alaska pulled out the trick three times, twice against San Miguel squads.

It could be that recent history speaks kindly of Alaska, but this San Miguel crew is a rock-solid one bannered by the most formidable pure center in the league—June Mar Fajardo.

Fajardo can take San Miguel wherever he wishes to go, and breaking free from the crippling double- or triple-teaming Alaska defense underneath should be the main concern of Austria if he wants his favored Beermen to keep the edge.

Calvin Abueva got a much-needed breather in an 87-76 Game 6 victory where he saw just 16 minutes of action after getting saddled with early fouls. His seemingly endless energy usually dictates how hard the Aces play, and he will do so again today.

Sonny Thoss, who was a member of that 2007 Alaska team, will play a critical role for the Aces as he tries to stop Fajardo while making the Beermen’s 6-foot-10 franchise player work harder defensively.

San Miguel is trying to snap a title-less spell in the all-Filipino that dates back to 2001, while the Aces have drought that dates a year longer.

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