San Miguel wins elusive Philippine Cup title, escapes Alaska in Game 7

MANILA, Philippines – Having blown big leads and lost, San Miguel Beer saw itself in a familiar situation Wednesday night.

With their 23-point lead dwindled down to the slimmest of margins, the Beermen this time, found their way out of trouble in a frenetic Game 7 to win 80-78 and capture the 2015 PBA Philippine Cup championship — that had eluded them for a long time — before the biggest crowd since the season opener at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

It was the Beermen’s 20th title — the most in the league — but it was only their first all-Filipino Cup plum since 2001.

“I would like to congratulate the entire Alaska team,” said SMB head coach Leo Austria, who steered his team to a crown in just his first conference at the helm. “This is unbelievable.”

Arwind Santos, who went on to be named Finals MVP, scored 22 points, including the Beermen’s last four points — highlighted by a clutch 3-pointer that gave the lead back to his team, 79-78, with 43.7 seconds left. Santos also recorded 11 rebounds and four blocks.

Santos averaged 18.5 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.5 blocks, 2.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game in the championship round.

Reigning MVP and Best Player of the Conference June Mar Fajardo went to work early with 15 points and 12 rebounds in the first half. He had 11 points and eight rebounds alone in the second quarter where San Miguel established a 48-25 lead and a 21-point buffer at the half.

Fajardo wound up with 21 points and 25 rebounds to become the first local player ever to notch a 20-20 game in the Finals.

The relentless Calvin Abueva, who came second to Fajardo in the BPC race, carried the Aces on his broad shoulders and anchored a ferocious third-quarter fightback that brought the Aces to within three, 62-59, heading into the fourth quarter.

An uncontested layup by rookie Chris Banchero off a hesitation move that froze his defender brought Alaska to just a point, 64-63, with still 9:52 left before Cyrus Baguio went coast-to-coast to give the Aces a 70-68 edge with still 5:32 remaining.

JVee Casio had a chance to win the game for the Aces at the buzzer but his hurried 3-pointer failed to even graze the rim as every player from the Beermen ran towards center court and went into a wild celebration.

But unlike in Games 1 and 3 where the Beermen collapsed and lost despite taking a 22 and 21-point lead, respectively, they hung on to survive the resilient Aces side.
Abueva, worked tirelessly anew, and led the Aces with 23 points and 15 rebounds.