By Joel Orellana
SAN MIGUEL Beer’s miraculous comeback from a 0-3 deficit was proof that if you pursue something with all your heart, nothing is impossible.
On Wednesday the Beermen etched their place in basketball history after completing a monumental comeback, pulling off a 96-89 victory over Alaska in Game Seven of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup finals at the MOA Arena.
It was San Miguel’s 22nd PBA crown and third for Head Coach Leo Austria.
And no one expected them to be hoisting the trophy.
“That made the championship even more special,” said Austria, who overcame the 0-3 deficit in a best-of-seven championship series.
“At first, we were just trying to stay alive after Alaska built that 3-0 lead. But after winning Game Four, we started to dream and became the first team to win the crown after being down 0-3. That made it sweeter for us,” he added.
Not even Baby Dalupan, Tommy Manotoc, Norman Black and Tim Cone, all grand slam coaches in the PBA, achieved that feat.
Austria also booked his third crown in four conferences in the league.
But the proud son of Sariaya (Quezon) deflected all the credit, stressing their real key to success was the players’ decision drop their ego and accomplish the roles assigned to them.
“Yes, we have June Mar [Fajardo] but there are also talented teams in the league like Alaska, Ginebra and Talk ’N Text. But the players understood their roles. They trusted my system,” Austria said.
Fajardo was not even 100 percent in the series because of a serious left-leg injury he suffered during their semifinal series against Rain or Shine. Arwind Santos was not consistent, offensively and defensively, in the whole series. Austria said the bench played a key role in the series, led by Yancy de Ocampo, who probably played his best series since Air21 tabbed him No. 1 in 2002. Gabby Espinas and Jay-R Reyes also did their share when Fajardo was warming the bench.
Marcio Lassiter provided the scoring threat that Austria needed when Fajardo was out, while Ronald Tubid, Alex Cabagnot and even Brian Heruela were also solid at backcourt.
But the biggest bench player that shone for Austria was Chris Ross, the 6-foot-1 Filipino-American guard who had a promising amateur career but never got the chance to become a franchise player.
“Chris did everything for us in the championship series. He scored, rebounded, assisted, defended,” Austria said. “Plus, he’s our energy guy in the team.”
Ross, who scored 21 points in Game Seven, was named the Finals Most Valuable Player by the PBA Press Corps despite averaging just 8.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.7 steals. His contribution was immeasurable and his leadership came at the right time when the Beermen were looking for one.
For the second straight season, San Miguel ruled the All-Filipino tournament also at the expense of the Aces. And Austria said not only was it talent, but the team’s chemistry and bonding that put them back on the top again.
And it’s only fitting that the remaining founding member of the PBA wrote the historic feat that will be hard to match.
Image credits: Roy Domingo