San Miguel Beer head coach Leo Austria simply knew who to go to in a deciding Game 7 and with the championship on the line.
And just like in the good, old days when the Beermen ruled the Philippine Cup in five straight seasons with an iron hand, he went to the dreaded combination known as the "Death Five" which, despite only three of them remaining with the team, still bear the same result – a Jun Bernardino trophy.
On Sunday, Sept. 4, the remnants of Death Five in June Mar Fajardo, Chris Ross and Marcio Lassiter displayed the championship pedigree and left a lasting imprint, especially in the payoff period when SMB pulled away for good. The trio combined for 22 of the Beermen’s 35 fourth quarter points that all but broke TNT’s back to reach the pinnacle of the PBA after a three year absence.
At one point, it was the inside-outside threat of Lassiter and Fajardo spearheading a blistering 17-0 run to open the fourth quarter before Ross with three straight triples put on the finishing touches in SMB’s masterful Game 7 performance.
“Kaya nga sinasabi na playoff player itong si Chris Ross eh leadership talaga nya, yun ang nagdala. June Mar, he’s always our go-to guy and of course, Lassiter,” said Austria.
“Actually yung tatlong iyon sa sinasabi niyong Death Five so yun yung spirit nila talagang nag rub-off dun sa ibang players kasi alam nila these three players are winners and wala akong masabi sa kanila, they learned a lot from this playoff championship,” the now nine-time PBA champion coach added.
Indeed, that winning mentality influenced the rest of the Beermen, especially those who joined the Beermen after their five-peat dynasty. Simon Enciso, Jericho Cruz, Mo Tautuaa, Vic Manuel and CJ Perez all made solid contributions to overcome a 3-2 series deficit.
“(I told them) you are capable of winning a championship. Itong mga players namin na nagkakaroon ng hesitation to take the shot they don't know where to go but after ng Game 6 alam nila that they have to contribute and never mind the pressure,” Austria said of the Beermen shocktroopers
SMB let go of Arwind Santos to NorthPort and Alex Cabagnot to Terrafirma which allowed them to get their hands on Manuel and Perez who both won their first titles with the Beermen.
“They also want to share the happiness of winning the championship, makikita mo si CJ, scoring champion si Vic always in the Finals di makuha kuha yung championship sinasabi niya eh pinapaiyak ako lagi ng San Miguel, ngayon tutulong ako para manalo ng championship with San Miguel,” shared Austria.
“They also want to share the happiness of winning the championship, makikita mo si CJ, scoring champion si Vic always in the Finals di makuha kuha yung championship sinasabi niya eh pinapaiyak ako lagi ng San Miguel, ngayon tutulong ako para manalo ng championship with San Miguel,” shared Austria.