Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
Sometimes, it’s the little unnoticed moments that can swing momentum in a big way.
And for San Miguel Beer, one of those moments came early in the fourth period. Magnolia had just pierced the double-digit barrier on a Jio Jalalon banked three that trimmed the lead to seven. The Hotshots then forced a stop and went on transition with a chance to chew two more points off the lead.
But Paul Lee missed what looked like an easy put-back, Terrence Romeo hit a fight-draining triple on the other end and the Beermen were back in control after parrying what turned out to be the Hotshots’ last stand.
San Miguel simply peeled away from there, preserving a big night by June Mar Fajardo with a 114-98 Game 4 victory that tied the PBA Philippine Cup Finals series at 2-2.
Fajardo turned Smart Araneta Coliseum into a private playground, walking away with his eighth Best Player of the Conference award in dominating fashion and then making all but one of his 14 shots en route to a 31-point, 14-rebound night.
“We all stepped up and followed the game plan,” Fajardo said in Filipino.
Magnolia had managed to creep to within eight a couple of times, the last at 90-82, but Romeo completed a three-point play, Fajardo added another and-1 as the Beermen stormed to a 99-82 lead, 6:06 remaining.
“This is the kind of game we’re looking for from our team. From start to finish, we were able to sustain our energy,” San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria said.
“The energy, the focus, and pride of the players [showed],” he added. “They knew the importance of this game. This could be the turning point for them.”
Big numbers aside, Fajardo also got a lot of help from his teammates, with five other players scoring in double figures, courtesy of a game plan that produced 24 assists.
San Miguel will now have momentum going into the crucial Game 5 on Friday.
“It’s now just a best-of-three and we have to prepare for that,” Fajardo said.
Fajardo, the reigning five-time MVP, earlier added to his already-impressive resumé by winning his eighth BPC award.
The Beermen’s 6-foot-10 cornerstone snared his sixth all-Filipino BPC in runaway fashion, amassing 1,165 points from the statistical race, along with votes from the media, PBA players and the Office of the Commissioner.
Sean Anthony of NorthPort Batang Pier was a far second with 641 total points.
Meanwhile, the Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas (SBP) unveiled a refreshed version of its old logo and a new one for the Philippines’ basketball programs on Wednesday night.
“We felt that after 10 years, we wanted a refresh not only cosmetically, but also structurally. We needed to strengthen lot of areas,” said SBP president Al Panlilio.
The new Gilas logo features a silhouette of the Philippine Eagle superimposed on a basketball.