PBA Finals: Meralco, San Miguel brace for war with pivotal Game 5 up
San Miguel Beermen vs Meralco Bolts in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
SCHEDULE: PBA Finals San Miguel vs Meralco
MANILA, Philippines—There has been a popular notion in basketball that when a best-of-seven duel is tied at 2-2, whoever wins Game 5 wins the series.
While that may have proven true for several series in the past, players from Meralco and San Miguel don’t see the same thing going down in the ongoing PBA Philippine Cup Finals.
Just ask Chris Newsome and Chris Ross, who will be leading their respective teams in the now-virtual best-of-three series for the All-Filipino trophy.
“I’ve seen a lot of crazy things in series,” said Newsome in jest after their 111-101 loss to the Beermen in Game 4 of the Finals at Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.
READ: PBA Finals: San Miguel gets back at Meralco to tie series at 2-2
“You can never count one team out because the goal is to win two now. [It] doesn’t matter how you win two. You can win the first one, lose the second and win the third or lose the first and win two straight.”
The all-important Finals Game 5 is on Friday.
Newsome and the Bolts could’ve avoided the 2-2 deadlock, but the Beermen found their footing just in time to tie their duel again.
Despite Newsome’s career-best 40 points on a waxing-hot 66 percent shooting clip, Meralco wasn’t able to tame the mammoth of a man in June Mar Fajardo.
Take the ‘Beeracle’
San Miguel Beermen center June Mar Fajardo steers his team in Game 4 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals against Meralco Bolts. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Fajardo, who minutes before the game was awarded as the Best Player of the Conference, proved that he deserved the plum by dropping 28 points and 13 rebounds, pushing San Miguel to knot the series at two games a piece.
Fajardo is no stranger to pressure in big moments. He was, after all, an important part of PBA history with the “Beeracle,” a moment Newsome acknowledged with the series reaching a crescendo after Game 4.
“I always refer back to the Beeracle where they had to win four straight so it’s definitely not impossible to pull it off if you don’t win that one (Game 5) but it really comes down to who plays great basketball, who hits shots and who’s more focused,” said the Gilas guard.
Moments after Newsome’s exit from the Big Dome, Chris Ross emerged out of San Miguel’s dugout.
READ: PBA Finals: Shackled June Mar Fajardo key to Meralco success
His squad took an important win, sure, but Ross wasn’t displaying much of a happy face.
Like Newsome, he too doesn’t believe that whoever wins the fifth game wins the best-of-seven clash.
“It’s first to four however you can get there, however you get it. We knew this was going to be a long series,” said a focused Ross.
“We know they’re a good team and we’re a good team as well. They’re fighting for their first chip and we’re fighting to keep the trophy,” he added.
Ross didn’t have much of an impact offensively with six points, only one out of his six tries from the field.
It is, however, in the intangibles where Ross affected the game positively for the Beermen. He dropped six assists to his teammates in the statement win, opening up opportunities when needed for San Miguel. He also snagged four steals, stunning the Meralco front on offense.
But Ross means business in the next games and he doesn’t care how long the Beermen takes to get there, as long as his squad wins their second straight PBA title.
“I really don’t care how long it goes, as long as we win. We’re ready for whatever.”
