San Miguel goes hard in no-bearing game to ‘develop winning habit’

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If there’s one team that’s so used to winning, it’s San Miguel Beer, which has ruled three of the last six conferences.

And the Beermen hope to make winning a habit as they gun for a third straight Philippine Cup title.

“We really need to win, we need to have that winning habit entering the playoffs,” said three-time PBA MVP June Mar Fajardo after SMB edged TNT, 98-94, Saturday night.

Having already locked up the No. 1 seed, San Miguel’s duel with TNT offered no implications for the Beermen.

And yet, all San Miguel’s starters played over 30 minutes with Fajardo logging in a game-high 38 minutes. He finished with 20 points, 22 rebounds and three blocks.

The 6-foot-10 center said he’s not worried about his health heading into the quarterfinals despite playing heavy minutes.

“We’re professionals so we just need to condition ourselves for the playoffs.”

“I’m very happy with my players because even if this was a no-bearing game for us, they treated this game like a championship game,” said SMB head coach Leo Austria. “They know the importance of this win because we want to develop a good habit.”