The San Miguel Beermen is still the champion of the Philippine Cup after surviving a grueling Game 7 showdown against the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok, 72-71.
June Mar Fajardo was in his “Kraken” mode once again most especially in the rebounding category as he logged 31 rebounds along with his 17 points.
Fajardo’s thirty one boards is a new record registered by a local.
San Miguel are successful on defending their crown and it’s their fifth straight in the All-Filipino conference.
The Beermen were able to turn the tides in the second after they were held down to only five points in the second quarter.
It seems that Magnolia were fully aware that the offense will flow through Fajardo and they threw double or triple team to stop his scoring production. As a result, Fajardo committed 9 turnovers.
Yet, in the third quarter, the Beermen bounced back and outscored Magnolia, 25-20 and they continued their onslaught in the fourth, 22-13.
The Hotshots had the chance to take the lead with less than 20 seconds remaining in the game as Paul Lee found the open Jio Jalalon inside the paint but he missed his lay-up as his shot got altered by a Beermen defender.
Fajardo got fouled and was sent to the free-throw line. The five-time MVP missed his two charities but with no enough time and no timeout left for Magnolia their team absorbed defeat.
San Miguel vs Magnolia Game Seven Box Score
Beermen (72) – Ross 7, Lassiter 5, Santos 17, Fajardo 17, Cabagnot 18. Romeo 4, Standhardinger 4
Hotshots (71) – Reavis 11, Sangalang 18, Barroca 7, dela Rosa 3, Lee 11, Ramos 6, Melton 5, Brondial 2, Jalalon 8