The 11 teams that have to beat San Miguel Beer to win the Philippine Cup are understandably concerned with June Mar Fajardo.
The four-time Most Valuable Player is at peak form and led the Beermen to a come-from-behind 88-76 win against TNT KaTropa in front of an enthusiastic crowd at University of San Agustin Gym in Iloilo City over the weekend.
And yet trying to stop the Beermen isn’t solely about stopping the big guy. You have to deal with a starting five that knows how to play beautiful music together. After years of winning titles, the San Miguel core knows whom to pass to and whom to go to when you need production and defense.
Arwind Santos, Alex Cabagnot, Chris Ross and Marcio Lassiter form arguably the strongest crew to complement Fajardo. Santos knows when to spin his defensive web, swatting shots or simply intimidating shooters from aiming straight. Cabagnot is an ideal teammate to have in the clutch because he is unafraid to take the big shot with the game on the line.
Lassiter’s shooting touch is already well known and even if he falls into the occasional shooter’s slump, you know you cannot afford to leave him unmarked. Ross is the tireless jitterbug on defense and offense because he can pick your pocket off the dribble and break away for fast-break layups. He has even added a shooting touch of late, a sign of marked improvement and a desire to have a well-rounded game.
And now what compounds this for other teams is that the bench has a degree of confidence that can be relied on when the starting unit needs down time because of fatigue, bad rhythm or foul trouble.
In Iloilo, Von Pessumal, Brian Heruela and Matt Ganuelas-Rosser contributed on both ends of the floor with clutch plays.
You simply have to bring your A game when you play the Beermen. There will be days when they will skip a beat and play a little out of tune. That’s when you have to pounce on them.
If you have a lead, as what Ka Tropa had in the early part of the Iloilo encounter, you have to protect it because the Beermen just know how to snap out of a stupor and get going.