SMB still kings

For all the firepower in their squad, the San Miguel Beermen knew success will only come when each player embraced his role.

And in the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup finals, the Beermen, playing their roles to the hilt, transformed into a force of nature that blew away the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings, capping their domination with a 91-85 thumping in Game 5 on Sunday to wrest a third straight crown before 20,217 fans at Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Winning the crown jewel of Philippine basketball for the third straight year meant the Beermen became just the second franchise in league history to win the Perpetual Trophy—a feat first achieved by Talk ‘N Text in 2013.

What was expected to be a series that went down the wire between the reigning champions and the team known for its resilience turned out to be a showcase of the Beermen’s firepower.

“Yes, this is a powerhouse team,” said San Miguel’s Leo Austria, who captured his fourth PBA title as coach of the Ramon Ang-led franchise.

“But we can’t win without having each player sacrificing and accepting their roles.”

Chris Ross, the Finals Most Valuable Player, agreed.

“Arwind (Santos) was MVP, but he took a backseat when June Mar (Fajardo) came,” said Ross. “All these guys can be starters on any other team but they embraced their roles here.”

Save for Game 2 when they suffered a 124-118 loss in overtime, the Beermen controlled the series with Ross and Fajardo doing most of the damage in the last three games of the series.

“This is the highlight of my career,” said Austria.

All five San Miguel starters wound up with double-digit outputs with reigning MVP Fajardo and Santos finishing with 21 points each as San Miguel captured a seventh all-Filipino crown and 23rd overall.

Ross came up with three defensive stops in the fourth just when Ginebra was trying to mount a rally, before delivering the dagger with a follow-up on a miss by Alex Cabagnot with under a minute left.