MANILA, Philippines -- It was a Beeracle of biblical proportions as the San Miguel Beermen pulled down the Alaska Aces to the worst collapse while making their comeback the greatest in the history of professional basketball after a 96-89 victory Wednesday in Game Seven before a mammoth crowd of 23,616 at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Chris Ross and Arwind Santos came through with clutch hits in the face of an Alaska signature rally in the fourth to pull off the historic win. Santos connected on a three-pointer then Ross capped off a back-breaking 7-0 run with two straight baskets that restored the Beermen's lead to double digits after the Aces threatened at 72-77.
Ross hit four triples on hi way to finishing a conference-high 21 points that came with five rebounds and five assists cementing his claim as the game changer of the series. He was aptly rewarded with the Finals MVP trophy.
The Aces baited the Beermen to play their game when their coaching staff used up all their mandatory timeouts right after the jumpball. The ploy which surprised the fans backfired as San Miguel went off to a blistering start and established an early 10-point lead that ballooned to 17 early in the fourth.
It was the Beermen's 22nd title and their third in the last four conferences. The Aces, on the other hand, lost their third straight Finals against the Beermen.