San Miguel Beer played like the champ of old, showing a lot of heart and pride in the game that mattered most to beat the Barangay Ginebra Kings, 90-79, and capture the Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference crown before a roaring crowd of over 20,000 at the Araneta Coliseum last night.
Gabe Freeman and the rest of the Beermen outplayed the Kings in the grandest stage of the finals – Game Seven – ending Ginebra’s reign as the reinforced conference champs and added another chapter to the Beermen’s tale of triumphs in the league.
The amazing Beermen nailed a first championship in four years and 18th overall in the storied history of the giant beverage franchise.
Coach Siot Tanquingcen kept his mastery of friend and mentor Jong Uichico in playoff battles as he notched a third championship. The youthful SMB tactician won his first two titles with Ginebra.
“Ginebra will always be a never-say-die team. They may have that attitude but we proved we have a great pride,” said Tanquingcen.
Jonas Villanueva, the season’s Most Improved Player, came through with 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists and finished the series with averages of 11 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists. He later claimed the FERN-C Finals MVP trophy.
Freeman, Danny Ildefonso, Marc Pingris and Mike Cortez also rose to the occasion for the Beermen, who completed a dominant run from the classification round to an outright entry into the Final Four.
Ginebra, second placer in the prelims, also gained automatic semis entry and proved to be a worthy finalist. But they blew two cracks at closing out the series and eventually yielded the crown.
“It took quite sometime for us to close it out and I would like to apologize for that, knowing the high expectations of the management and the fans,” said Tanquingcen. “I had to admit we really have a powerhouse team. But we’re tested and it took talent and character to win it in the end.”
Freeman proved too hot to handle for the Kings in the do-or-die setto with the Best Import awardee, piling up 29 points and 18 rebounds -- his 22nd triple double in the tourney.
David Noel, meanwhile, struggled with a 3-of-11 shooting and committing a game-high six turnovers.
The Beermen opened a sizable lead, 24-11, right at the onset of the game as Freeman asserted himself early, making nine points and five rebounds in the opening quarter.
The Kings came to within one at 35-36 but Freeman, Ildefonso, Mick Pennisi and Villanueva worked on a 9-2 closing run to take the half at 45-37.
Noel groped for form early and it took the exploits of Jayjay Helterbrand for the Kings to prevent the Beermen from pulling away in the first 24 minutes of play.
Helterbrand was seven-of-eight from the field for 15 points on top of four rebounds and the same number of assists in the first 24 minutes of play.
It was an action-packed first half that saw the Beermen outrun the Kings, producing 10 points off the breaks, two more than that of Ginebra.
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