- On the cusp of the title, the San Miguel Beermen go for the jugular vs TNT Tropang 5G in Game 5 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals on Wednesday.
July 23, Wednesday – Smart Araneta Coliseum
- 7:30pm – TNT Tropang 5G vs San Miguel Beermen
San Miguel Beermen in Game 4 of thje PBA Philippine CUp FInals against TNT Tropang 5G. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
Monsoon rains haven’t stopped pummeling the country the past days, leaving cities and municipalities flooded and scores forced to evacuate their homes.
It’s the same kind of walloping that San Miguel Beer has dealt TNT in the past three games, with the Beermen—weather permitting, of course—out to play possibly the last game of its redemption tour, when they try to close out the hobbling Tropang 5G in an emotion-filled PBA Philippine Cup title series at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“The killer instinct, that’s what’s most important,” San Miguel coach Leo Austria said of what’s needed as they take the floor at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday in search of the franchise’s record-extending 30th title while also denying the Tropang 5G a Grand Slam that looked so promising when all of this started.
Marcio Lassiter
Right in the middle of all the tension after Game 4 of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals, Marcio Lassiter looked the same player that he has always been throughout his career.
He was silent—no celebration, no angst and complaints—despite moving within a win from his 11th PBA championship.
“I think of the next play mentality,” Lassiter told the Inquirer when asked of his demeanor after the Beermen notched a 105-91 win over TNT.
“I’m not too high, not too low and that’s kind of what helped me throughout my career,” he said. “We’re veterans. We know how to control it and when it gets too much, our game does the talking.”
San Miguel Beermen’s June Mar Fajardo during Game 4 of the PBA Philippine Cup FInals against TNT Tropang 5G. –MARLO CUETO/INQUIRER.net
MANILA, Philippines—June Mar Fajardo had plenty to celebrate on Sunday night.
Not only did he push San Miguel Beer to the brink of a PBA Philippine Cup title, he also took home his 12th Best Player of the Conference award.
But ever the stoic big man, Fajardo swept the celebrations aside, saying the goal of the squad has yet to be accomplished.
Jericho Cruz
For the second straight Sunday, action in the PBA Philippine Cup Finals between San Miguel Beer and Grand Slam-chasing TNT has somewhat taken a backseat to things said and done off the court.
They’re just the very things both teams don’t need—but what the league can benefit from—as the Beermen try to finally end the challenge of the Tropang 5G and deal them a world of hurt for the second time in the last 14 years with another denial of their Triple Crown dreams.
Though officiating was not the center of controversy this time, with Jericho Cruz and Chris Ross becoming the target of irate Tropang 5G team manager Jojo Lastimosa, who felt that the two were “arrogant” during the latter moments of the Beermen’s 105-91 Game 4 win at SM Mall of Asia Arena.
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