San Miguel Beermen Basketball Games Updates

Photo Credit: PBA.PH

The San Miguel Beermen ended their four-year championship drought as they smashed a depleted but fighting Barangay Ginebra Kings in Game 7 of the 2009 Motolite PBA Fiest Conference, 90-79. It was actually a come-from behind win for the Beermen after being down 3-2 in the best-of-seven series.

San Miguel’s depth proved to be too much for the injury-ridden Barangay Ginebra Kings who seem to be tired in both Games 6 and 7. With the loss, the Gin Kings failed to defend their title and ended their aspirations for a back-to-back championship.

The usual performers showed up for the San Miguel Beermen as Best Import Awardee Gabe Freeman asserted his might at will and Most Improved Player Jonas Villanueva showcased his stellar performance with an all around basketball game. The rest of the powerhouse all-star cast also contributed heavily including Marc Pingris, Danny Ildefonso, Mike Cortez and Mick Pennisi.

After several years of building the right combination of players, San Miguel coach Siot Tanquincen finally hit the mark this time winning his third basketball championship. It took long but the wait is worth it.

Read the full news story of how the Beermen won it from the Philippine Basketball Association (pba.ph).

BEERMEN END 4-YEAR TITLE DROUGHT
Friday, 17 July 2009

In the end, talent and pride prevailed over character and attitude.

San Miguel Beermen outplayed Barangay Ginebra in the grandest stage of a title playoff — Game Seven — fashioning out a convincing 90-79 victory to bag the Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference crown before a roaring crowd of over 20,000 at the Araneta Coliseum.

“Ginebra will always be a never-say-die team. They have that great character and attitude. But when we’re tested after the Game Five loss, we showed our talent as well as our pride as a champion team,” said San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen moments after the championship.

The Beermen emerged triumphant after a fortnight of fierce battle, dethroning the Kings as Fiesta Cup champs and, in the process, ending their chase for a first title since their 2004-05 Fiesta Conference conquest.

Gabe Freeman, the tournament Best Import awardee, proved too hot to handle  in this eventful evening, bulldozing his way to game-highs of 29 points and 18 rebounds.

Then there were Jonas Villanueva, Marc Pingris, Danny Ildefonso, Mike Cortez and Mick Pennisi also rising to the occasion as the Beermen frustrated the Kings and their throngs, thus, notching the franchise’s 18th championship overall.

Tanquingcen kept his mastery of friend and mentor Jong Uichico in playoff battles in earning a third personal championship. The youthful SMB tactician won his first two titles with Ginebra.

“Nagkataon lang yon,” said Tanquingcen, downplaying his fourth win in as many playoff tiffs with Uichico.

“It took us quite sometime to close it out and I would like to apologize, knowing the high expectations of the management and the fans on us,” Tanquingcen also said. “I had to admit we really have a powerhouse team. But when tested, it took us talent and pride to get the championship.”

The Beermen made it a come-from-behind victory, clinching it with victories in Games Six and Seven.

Villanueva, the season’s Most Improved Player, came through with 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in Game Seven and went home with the FERN-C Finals MVP trophy. He wound up with averages of 11 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists in the series.

With the win, San Miguel preserved its great ride in the classification round leading to 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 two missed shots at closing out the series had them yielding the coveted crown.

Freeman frolicked in the do-or-die setto, coming through with his 22nd triple double in the tourney.

David Noel, meanwhile, floundered in the face of tough adversity, struggling with a 3-of-11shooting and committing a game-high six turnovers.

SMB took control right in the opening quarter and held on to the finish in frustrating Ginebra and its die-hards.

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, Villanueva and Mick Pennisi worked on a 9-2 closing run to take the half at 45-37.

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 half.

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. (NC)

The scores:

San Miguel 90 – Freeman 29, Villanueva 15, Pingris 12, Ildefonso 10, Cortez 9, Pennisi 8, Washington 5, Hontiveros 2, Racela 0, Pena 0.

Ginebra 79 – Helterbrand 25, Menk 12, Tubid 10, Reavis 9, Noel 8, Lanete 6, Wilson 5, Baguio 4, Mamaril 0, Salvacion 0.

P.S. Whew! It took the San Miguel Beermen winning the crown before this blog gets updated. I would like to apologize for the avid readers of this blog as I really cannot find the time now to update it regularly due to heavy work schedule. But with this exciting developments, you might see new updates once in a while starting today.

Winning the championship means that the San Miguel Beermen finally made the right combination of people from the management, coaching staffs, training personnel, and most especially the crop of players. Have you also heard that Arwind Santos was acquired by the Beermen. This adds up to the great things that San Miguel Beermen fans will look forward to.

But for now, let’s enjoy the moment and celebrate our victory. Congratulations to the San Miguel Beermen, the 2009 Motolite PBA Fiest Conference CHAMPIONS!

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