ROLLING IN THEIR DEPTH
The last time San Miguel Beer and TNT met for a PBA championship, the spotlight fell on Jericho Cruz as Finals Most Valuable Player.
Expectations of a repeat in their Philippine Cup rematch aren’t something Cruz is dwelling on as the Beermen brace for a steely resolve from a Tropang 5G side eager for payback.
“Awards are just secondary. Like in the previous Finals, I didn’t expect that I would be Finals MVP,” Cruz told the Inquirer after San Miguel booked a title date with TNT by eliminating Barangay Ginebra, 101-88, in Friday’s semifinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“My goal, our team’s goal, is to win the championship. We have a lot of players who are deserving. It could be June Mar [Fajardo], it could be Marcio [Lassiter], it could be Chris Ross.
“If it comes, it comes. But the goal is to win the championship—or win more championships,” he added.
Wednesday start
Cruz was the chief tormentor of TNT’s dashed Grand Slam bid last July, a performance convincing enough to earn him the Press Corps’ Finals MVP nod.
That will be one of the subplots when the series opens on Wednesday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City, with San Miguel seeking to extend its dominance in what is considered the league’s most prized conference.
“All I can say is, it’s going to be a good series for the championship,” Cruz said. “With their starting five and bench, it’s really going to be a good series. It’ll be fun to watch and it’ll be a series that’ll be enjoyable to watch.”
The Beermen are chasing an eighth All-Filipino crown in the last 11 editions, with another shot at the Jun Bernardino Perpetual Trophy hinging on how well they maximize their depth—much like they did in the semifinals.
San Miguel closed out the crowd favorites behind a standout off-the-bench showing from Don Trollano, who backed up CJ Perez’s historic 30-point first quarter by pouring in 23 points to repel Ginebra’s fourth-quarter rally.
“In our team, everyone’s capable of stepping up,” said Trollano, citing the group’s “next man up” mentality.
He also knows TNT’s second unit can match San Miguel’s, adding intrigue to which team can best support its main weapons.
“TNT also has a deep bench, especially adding guys like Jio Jalalon,” Trollano said. “For us, we just have to play tit-for-tat and match whatever they show on the court.”
League record
Much of the attention, however, will still fall on the stars.
Perez heads into the Finals brimming with confidence after becoming just the third local player to score 30 points in a quarter on a perfect 12-for-12 shooting clip—a league record—on the way to a career-high 41 points.
“We were able to heave a sigh of relief [after the semis], but it’s going to be another stressful series for us, for sure,” Perez said. “We’ll focus on what we did right and address what we need to fix.”
San Miguel is making its fourth straight All-Filipino Finals appearance, with three of those coming against TNT—and the Beermen winning every time.
The Beermen also beat the Tropang 5G, 110-95, in last month’s eliminations in Antipolo, but that result will mean little once the teams collide again.
“I think they’re thinking about how to get back at us,” coach Leo Austria said. “But I think this will be an exciting series.”
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