Instant classic

Pampanga's, no, the PBA's BEST.
(Photo courtesy of Sports5)

Kindly excuse us for this rather late reaction to what has turned out to be an amazing, "instant classic" PBA Philippine Cup Finals between the eventual champs San Miguel Beermen and hard-fighting Alaska Aces.

To be quite frank, we were simply left in awe about how the Best-of-Seven series (which went the full distance) captured the magic of true Filipino basketball. Nothing fancy, no shootouts or one team trying to showboat over the other, but just quality, grind-it-out, matira matibay basketball. What was first being sold as a "vintage" match-up between two of the most dominant teams in the mid 1990s, quickly became a series of its own with the Aces' inspiring run to the top behind a battlecry that preaches #wenotme and the Beermen's quest to quash any #larongmayaman tags and to exorcise whatever demons and drama it has had to deal with the last two or three years.

For the champions, the Beermen, Arwind Santos stood tall when his young fellow PBA MVP Junemar Fajardo was under attack. He set the tone early in the series by not letting the Aces' and its star Calvin Abueva get into any of his teammates' heads by way of physicality. Santos let his game do the talking, even when he wasn't exactly taking the lead role on offense. He battled like the Arwind Santos of old. He was probably pushed into going back to his old self by the challenge that is the young Abueva. We were all reminded, in a span of seven games, why every one thought of Santos as a one of a kind talent in the whole Philippine basketball world. At the same breath, we were also left to rue what could have been, had this Santos showed up the previous years, and maybe joined Gilas Pilipinas as arguably the best and most versatile wing/high post defender in the land.


Alex Cabagnot came through when it counted, despite being a late addition and formerly cast off by some Beermen fans as a ball hog. In this series, Cabagnot was efficient and decisive. Where Chris Ross was brilliant on defense, Cabagnot showed how he was pretty much a true upgrade over Sol Mercado. He made several shots from the outside that stretched the Aces' defense. He kept his cool in the end when guys would simply hesitate. And probably, the most under-the-radar play in Game 7? That pass, with full confidence, to a clearly exhausted Santos who Cabagnot trusted to take the three (that eventually sealed the win and title for the Beermen).

That takes a lot of trust between two players, specially between two men who were rumored to not have met eye to eye the first time around.

And what is there left to say about Fajardo and his continued dominance of the league? This is his league, and he will continue to dominate for as long as the good Lord allows him. Even against the sturdiest and peskiest of defenses, Fajardo finished Game 7 with a signature 20-20 performance.

The Beermen have always been a force on paper, seeing it finally come to fruition is arguably the most rewarding thing for all their fans who deserve to see a winning team minus the unnecessary drama.

For the Aces, it's amazing how hard they play night in and night out under head coach Alex Compton. The core of this team has already won a title before with Abueva in the fold, so it's not as surprising to see how poised they were in the PBA Finals. The continued evolution of Abueva, complimented by the unpredictable offense that sometimes comes by way of Dondon Hontiveros, Cyrus Baguio, others JVee Casio, Sonny Thoss-- it's just the epitome of team work. Though we find ourselves wishing that Abueva finds a reliable 2nd option, you just can't argue with results.

Hontiveros and Baguio took turns playing that Michael Jordan/ Dwyane Wade role depending on Abueva's impact (some night's he's LeBron James' do-it-all dominant, others he's Scottie Pippen do-it-all from the shadows). We look forward to Rome de la Rosa finally joining the fun as a suitable SG/SF option so Abueva would have younger legs to run with, same with Chris Banchero who showed flashes of brilliance in the Finals specially when the pint-sized Casio was being bottled up by the Beermen's defense.

We wonder how this series would have turned out had Gabby Espinas been 100% healthy. We're pretty sure that he'd play like his old PCU self if only to show his former team, and to show why he was the NCAA RoY-MVP that one year (Beast before The Beast, a.k.a. The Prototype). Santos already had his hands full with Abueva, what more if Espinas was lurking around the paint to help his homeboy?

Pride, passion, true competitive fire and none of that "gentleman's agreement" B.S. that's been thrown around so much lately. Pag nasa court kayo, magkaaway kayo. Patay kung patay. 

Thank you Arwind Santos, Calvin Abueva.

Thank you Alaska Aces.

Thank you San Miguel Beermen.

What a series!