SMB! HISTORY!

“San Miguel has never been swept.”

“No team has came back from a 0-3 in a pro basketball level.”

“History.”

“Wala si June Mar, eh.” 

“Hindi na kaya.” 

These are some of the lines that you would expect to hear from the players falling down to 0-3 in a championship series without the back-to-back MVP, June Mar Fajardo! But believe it or not, these lines were never said even after losing Game 3 in Lucena by a Beerman or any official from the team. 

After that heartbreaking loss in Game 2, most of the guys were still optimistic. We were in the gym when Jay-R Reyes said, “Feel ko talaga mag cha-champion.” Bitoy Omolon chimed in and agreed: “Oo nga. Feel ko magcha-chamion pa rin tayo.” 

I don’t know if they really felt it or they just said it  for us to deny the reality that playing without June Mar was a disadvantage for us or that Alaska finally had our number at that time.

Anyway moving on, the team had a 4pm practice at the Philsports Arena after arriving at around 2 am from Lucena and as expected everyone was down. Most of the players were taking their time. Lying down on the floor trying to get an extra shut eye or just trying to figure out what’s going on. Practice was light stretching shooting and that’s about it. Before the practice ended, instructions for Game 4 were given. “Our mentality is just to win one game. Think of it as a regular game. Just like a regular game that we have to win. “ Personally heading into Game 4, I just wanted to win one game so we won’t get swept. However, things escalated quickly! 

During Game 4, I thought coach did press the panic button which was really crazy. He put in David and Bitoy together in the second group even before Marcio and Gabby in the 1^st quarter. That’s crazy right?!  But this panic button worked I guess the guys who played a lot of minutes in Lucena and  eventually at the end of the Game 4 got a little more rest in the start. 

Fast forward to less than four minutes left… “it’s over… it’s over…” that was what’s on my head until Chris Ross, Arwind Santos, Marcio Lassiter, Ronald Tubid, and Gabby Espinas played helter skelter basketball and just “refused to lose”. C Ross just carried the whole team while Arwind was doing normal Arwind things like grabbing all the rebounds and swatting or challenging all the shots inside by Alaska. After that seven-point swing of Alaska that started from that Cyrus Baguio’s three bridging to the four Vic Manuel points in overtime, I thought it was over again. But C Ross took over again and had other plans for the team. Eventually we didn’t get swept everybody was happy in the locker room and for some reason I really felt that we were the one leading the series. 1-3.

.

The next day we came back to Acropolis for practice and the first thing I saw was June Mar taking some shots and I had this big smile hoping he would play next game. So for a while I just stared and watched him as he swished a couple of treys. But my hopes of him playing for game 5 was crushed right away when the passer passed the ball low and he couldn’t bend yet. He couldn’t even jog yet. He can shoot but can’t do any necessary movements to play in the game. Everybody was just happy to see him shoot hoops after a 9 or 10 day rest. 

Game 5 started and before the 1st quarter ended June Mar stood up and walked to the scorer’s table. I was like “This isn’t true! He can’t even move yet! What are you doing coach?!” Deep inside I was having mixed emotions on whether I’m happy to see him play or was worried about his injury. The crowd and the players though went crazy! It was electric the chants and cheers felt like we won the championship already. This moment definitely gave the players a great boost where you weren’t expecting a savior and he just showed up and ready to save the day. My doubts were turned to the opposite direction right away when June Mar started making jumpers. He played roughly 16 minutes but the effect on everybody was unexplainable. The game went into overtime and ended with just a game behind. 2-3.

Game 6 was a game to show that we are back and that Games 4 and 5 that went into overtime wasn’t just a fluke. Everybody played well Marcio and Arwind shot the lights out, June Mar was dominating the paint and C Ross and Alex were doing great things! The 4^th quarter surge showed how deadly that first group can be when everybody is on point it’s hard to stop! 3-3.

There was a long break before Game 7 and at that time I didn’t know who would benefit that break. For us it’s good because June Mar could get more time to heal but on the other hand it would kill our momentum. For Alaska, it was good, to break the momentum and it would give them more time to prepare for the zone that has been killing them the whole series. For us the question was what would Alaska do? Would they do something new? Would they change their substitution pattern? Will they go zone as well? 

Our practices went pretty slow as players were very relaxed. Everybody was trying to go with the flow and avoid injuries. If you watched practice it didn’t feel like we were playing a do or die game. It felt like we were playing just another elimination game. The thought of finally making a history lingering in the minds of the everyone is obvious as Alex would say “immortality” with feelings every now and then. But you can sense it that everyone was avoiding to talk about it. 

We practiced in MOA Arena the day before Game 7. Practice was relatively long and boring. Stretching shooting and spent so much time on press break which fortunately was a right thing to do cause eventually that’s what Alaska will do, pressure the ball and run all night long. It was so long and boring that it felt like eating adobo everyday for breakfast lunch and dinner… without rice! While practice was going on, I saw June Mar lying down in the scorer’s table with an ice pack on his knee. His eyes were closed and his injured leg on the table while the other knee dangling from the table. I went to him and said “ Huy! Focus naman tayo oh…” 

He replied, “ Iniimagine ko lang pagnahuhulog na yung mga lobo bukas!” I wasn’t able to reply, I just had a big smile and just told myself “Champion na to!” 

Game day came! 

In a Game 7 we always here “puso lang yan” “palakihan ng puso” “it’s not the x’ and o’s anymore” well I really believe that that heart will bring you a long way. But I also believe that those small details, those adjustment and those simple things you prepared for during practice is very important as well. An hour before the game and I couldn’t relax and kept walking back and forth. I kept praying that we win. The game started in a unconventional way when Alaska head coach Alex Compton called three timeouts to start the game. After the first timeout I thought it was just to bring Sam Eman out cause June Mar didn’t start. But then it was a full timeout then two more full timeouts after it. 

I was really confused at first and thought “sayang naman baka kailanganin nila yan mamaya,” “ano kaya plano ni Coach Alex,” and “Silent protest ba to.” But the most logical reason I can think of is for them to take all the mandatory timeouts and play it their game which is a fast paced game. Turn it into a track meet! I think there’s nothing wrong with that strategy cause if they won that game that would be a genius strategy but they didn’t so now it’s a major strategic bust. That’s how basketball goes if you win you’re great if not then you will hear a lot from people. 

So as expected Alaska would start with a strong line up but the problem with that is that June Mar and Marcio were coming off the bench. The game started and it was a shootout in the start C Ross heated up early hitting treys while Dondon Hontiveros also hitting back-to-back treys in the first half. The lead in the second half went up to 21 points if I remember it right but at that time against Alaska, 21-point lead is not safe! And on cue they started this crazy run! We were prepared for their pressure defense but we lost a little composure or focus to start the 4^th.  As the lead went down to a single digit I couldn’t help but think about last year’s All-Filipino series. Alaska won several games where they were down big. One game I think they were down 25 in the finals. It went down to five ( 75-70) until Alex hit a 3 pointer to stop the bleeding! In the last minute of play, our lead was 10 and I couldn’t wait to celebrate. The balloons fell and history was made. 4-3. History. 

Different takes. Different views.

In Game 7, both teams went back to their bread and butter defense. To the defense they used the whole elimination. Alaska relied on their suffocating pressure defense and trapping defense the whole game and it almost worked. While on the other hand we played man almost the whole game surprisingly. Remember zone defense was the one who brought us here and now we are ditching it? Well back to basics I guess. 

Games 1 and 2 was one of the crucial parts of this series. It showed us that we can compete and even win even without June Mar. It also gave the other guys like papa Yancy, Gabby and JayR the time and confidence they need to regain their game back. Marcio Alex and Chris Lutz also got more touches started to shoot and create more that June Mar is out. Then Brian was a great addition this season because it allowed us to use C Ross-Alex combination more that we have a steady point in that second group. Then pair Brian up with Ryan and/or Ronald then your energy just shoots up the ceiling! 

One of the reasons why this team has been successful is also because of the management. Their support is overflowing. They would do everything to get the players in their A game. Boss RSA would even invite some of the players if not all to a “hilot” session for the players to get relaxed and also to have a short chat. From sending food the day before game to having fruits and meals during game days. Every thing possible for the players to be motivated, they did! 

“#wenotme” Alaska used this line. This was their battle cry but for me that finals series was better fit for San Miguel. Every game there was a different best player I think. Every game I didn’t really know who will contribute. Until game 6 there was still a debate who would be the finals MVP unlike in Alaska where Vic Manuel was the Clear finals MVP if they won that series. I felt like Vic was their June Mar Fajardo. He was averaging around 20 points in less than 30 minutes. And I felt like when he was in the game it’s hard to stop him. Ryan would tell me “hindi na kailangan maglaro basta panalo. Abang abang lang.” You would see Alex cheering in the bench even though there was a game that he didn’t even play a minute in the 4^th quarter and he was unstoppable in the first two games. You got to give it to the coaching staff as well, for having a great game plan and sticking to it to the end. Lastly, of course the utility and other staff who completes the team. Special mention to the PTs (sting, jigs, edward) who took care of the bodies of the players especially June Mar when he got injured. 

Personally I am really happy that C Ross won the finals MVP award! He proved that players who play their role well can win the MVP award, that defensive players in the league can win the MVP award. He just did everything… he didn’t leave anything thing in the tank. Remember even before Game 7 he was the leading candidate for finals MVP and he didn’t even average more than 10 points. That Game 7 where he made 4 three pointers wasn’t just a lucky day. I saw him worked on that shot the whole off-season and elimination with Marcio. It just happened that he was having a slump in the finals and Alaska was unfortunate that the price of C Ross working hard before came out in that game. 

Overall it was a great series for San Miguel and Alaska. The real champs here are the PBA fans who witnessed a series like that. Alaska did a great job and you have to give them credit. Coach Alex did a great job to this organization, bringing them to the finals three times in the last four conferences. This is what hurts in basketball there is always a winner and a loser. The amount of work you put in sometimes doesn’t show results right away or sometimes it doesn’t show at all. 

God has plans for both teams and we are fortunate He gave that championship to us. 

4-3! Immortality! History! 

On to the next one!