San Miguel Beer players celebrate after winning its second championship of the season. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.NET
San Miguel Beer pulled off a rare four-game sweep after outclassing Alaska, 91-81, in the 2015 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals Friday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Beermen, the winningest PBA franchise, became just the fifth team in league history to complete a 4-0 shutout in the championship.
SMB won its second championship of the season after conquering the Philippine Cup also at the expense of Alaska. The Beermen added championship No.21 to their collection.
Beermen center June Mar Fajardo recorded 19 points, 21 rebounds and three blocks on the same night where he received his second consecutive MVP award while import Arizona Reid had 33 points built on six 3-pointers in his final game as a PBA import.
“We won the championship because of the help of so many people. The hero here are the players, but the biggest hero are our fans,” said SMB head coach Leo Austria.
The Beermen bucked a sluggish first half and got into their groove in the second half. They took control in the fourth quarter where they led, 81-65, with 7:05 left.
The Aces were primed to at least postpone the Beermen’s celebration after leading by as much as 14 points in the first half. But San Miguel, behind Reid, got back into it and even took the lead, 70-65, entering the fourth quarter after a 33-point third period.
Fajardo bagged the Holcim-PBA Press Corps Finals MVP plum.
Alaska, a team known for its ability to comeback from deep holes, tried to mount one last rally down the stretch in an attempt to at least extend the series to a fifth game. Calvin Abueva pulled the Aces to within single digits, 90-81, with 1:29 left but his team couldn’t buy a bucket when it needed it most – missing three attempts in the final minute to yield the championship to San Miguel.
Abueva led the Aces with 22 points and 17 rebounds while Romeo Travis, whose game took a plunge coincidentally after winning the Best Import of the Conference award, wound up with 15 markers and seven boards.
The Scores:
SAN MIGUEL 91 – Reid 33, Fajardo 19, Lassiter 12, Espinas 8, Santos 6, Cabagnot 5, Ross 3, Semerad 3, Lutz 2, Tubid 0.
ALASKA 81 – Abueva 22, Travis 15, Thoss 13, Baguio 7, Exciminiano 7, Casio 5, Menk 4, Banchero 3, Jazul 3, Dela Rosa 2, Manuel 0, Hontiveros 0.
Quarters: 18-17, 37-49, 70-65, 91-81.