Grandest stage

A title series this close—and with the stakes so big—deserves no other end.

Playing like the four-time defending champion, San Miguel Beer on Sunday night forged a Game 7 for the PBA Philippine Cup title with Magnolia after showing a facet of its game it rarely turns to in winning: Defense.

For the first time in the series, the Beermen won despite failing to score more than 100 points, with a 96-86 victory showcasing how tough they could be in quelling several rallies by the Hotshots to keep their “five-peat” bid alive.

And with the decider slated Wednesday also at Smart Araneta Coliseum, there is no doubt that the old cliché that says that the 7 p.m. contest is anybody’s ballgame seems to be favoring one side. If for a bit.

June Mar Fajardo did a lot of damage on the Hotshots inside, and Chris Ross and Marcio Lassiter took turns punishing the enemy from afar.

Christian Standhardinger and Terrence Romeo showed they belong to this talent-studded bunch by playing out their roles as spearheads of a second unit that could still pass as an All-Star starting five.

The Hotshots, quite expectedly, didn’t go down easily. They managed to narrow what was an 18-point deficit to just six late in the third quarter before falling short down the stretch.

The two teams meet again in a fitting finale to what has been a very unpredictable series that could either crown a new champion or extend what has been an unprecedented reign for San Miguel.

The Beermen were tipped to dominate this series, having beaten the Hotshots in five games last season.

And with that Game 6 win, San Miguel will come into that game the slight favorite—if experience, sheer firepower, and some sort of momentum are taken into consideration.

“You all saw it. We played great defense,” he told the Inquirer. “Through that game, I feel our players saw just how important playing defense is in winning.”