MANILA, Philippines – The San Miguel Beermen firmly placed themselves in the league's history books after outlasting the Magnolia Hotshots in double overtime, 108-99, to win the PBA Philippine Cup championship in Game Five of the finals on Friday night.
The Beermen mounted a blistering run in the fourth period to claw their way back in the ball game. June Mar Fajardo figured as the spearhead of that onslaught with a second career-high performance, cutting the deficit as the game entered its last minute with 14 points in the period.
Arwind Santos then took over in the final 16.5 seconds of that period, hitting a triple to erase what was a 23-point Hotshots lead, tie the game and generate five more minutes to settle the score.
The two MVPs reprised their hot performances in the extra periods, but it was Alex Cabagnot who uncorked the gut punch, widening the gap at 105-99. This is the franchise's 25th overall title and their eighth hardware in the presitgious conference.
The championship sends the Beermen alongside the famed Crispa Redmanizers as the only two teams to have won four all-Filipino conference titles. But this Leo Austria-mentored squad is the only crew to have done it in successive fashion.
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Fajardo who had 42 points, was named Cignal-Finals Most Valuable Player. He normed 24.4 points, 16.2 rebounds, two blocks and two assists in the series.
Magnolia, for their part, will go home with a first Finals experience under the tutelage of coach Chito Victolero. They have never gotten over the hump of the semifinals in the prior to this series.
San Miguel is poised to rekindle their bid for a rare Grand Slam after botching it the previous year.