AFTER some of his key players in CJ Perez, Vic Manuel, Mo Tautuaa, and Simon Enciso finally got the monkey off their backs last Sunday night, San Miguel Beer coach Leo Austria is hoping the winning feeling will stay with the team for a long while.
“It’s a great motivation for them dahil ang player kapag nanalo ng championship, ayaw na nilang ibigay iyan,” Austria said.
“Gusto nila, laging manalo. That’s why for me, it’s not really hard to coach them now because they know the glory of winning a championship,” he added.
Austria spoke after the Beermen dethroned the TNT Tropang Giga 119-97 in the titular match of their best-of-7 finals duel for the PBA Philippine Cup crown before a wild and roaring crowd.
Austria, who won his ninth title and steered SMB to its 28th diadem overall, 10 of them coming in the all-Filipino tilt, said the Beermen’s playoff games from the quarterfinals against Blackwater where they were the No. 1 seed to a grueling semifinals clash with Meralco that went the distance galvanized his charges.
“I think nakabuti sa amin iyong mga playoff games namin dahil we’re able to develop iyong winning character, and that’s very important,” Austria said. “Iyong passion nila to win a championship, iyong attitude, nandoon iyon.”
The remnants of SMB’s fancied ‘Death Five’ such as Best Player of the Conference and finals MVP June Mar Fajardo, Marcio Lassiter, and Chris Ross also guided their teammates who were raring to taste a championship.
“I know our players are really determined to win the game. The experienced players, they’re sharing with each other,” Austria said. “Alam naman natin na ang mga players namin, I think more than half, ay galing sa ibang teams. They don’t have the experience in a championship.”
The runaway win served as an encore to the Beermen’s 114-96 triumph in Game 6 four nights ago that dragged the race-to-4 battle for the import-less tourney’s biggest prize to the deciding game and completed their mission of regaining the pro league’s crown jewel and their first since the 2019 Commissioner’s Cup.
Perez wound up with 25 points, grabbed four rebounds, and issued seven assists for SMB, while Fajardo had 19 markers, 18 boards, and five dimes.
Manuel and Lassiter also combined for 31 points, while Tautuaa, Enciso, and Ross added 13, 12, and 12 points, respectively for the Beermen.
The Tropang Giga tried hard to overcome the odds in Game 7 but simply could get the job done without coach Chot Reyes, who missed the game due to health and safety protocols.
Forward Glenn Khobuntin also sat out the match due to an MCL injury for TNT, while hardworking big man JP Erram was ejected after he was slapped a flagrant foul penalty two for hitting the head of Tautuaa at the 55.1-second mark of the second quarter.
Jayson Castro shrugged off a sprained right ankle injury and paced TNT with 32 points, on top of 10 caroms, and eight feeds, while Mikey Williams had 22 markers, but was held to only five after scoring 17 points in the first quarter.
Roger Pogoy and Troy Rosario also contributed 16 and 11 markers, respectively for the Tropang Giga.
