Best Player of the Conference (BPC) June Mar Fajardo dominated once again with 23 points and 18 rebounds, while teammate Marcio Lassiter chipped 20 and was hailed Best Player of the Game. Chris Ross sparked the energy for SMB in the beginning after making all five of his three-pointers in the first half, totalling 17 points. Big man Christian Standhardinger also contributed a total of 16. For the Hotshots, who tried to spark off of their crucial win last Friday off Mark Barroca’s buzzer-beater, it was Jio Jalalon and Ian Sangalang who fought to end the series at 17 and 14 points respectively. Rafi Reavis also contributed 13, while Rodney Brondial and Paul Lee added 12 and 10 points as well.
“Happy for our players,” San Miguel head coach Leo Austria responded to their win, “They know how important this game it. They know how to win a championship. You can see from the players that they don’t want to lose. We [do] not have a chance to grab it again.”
Highest-pointer Fajardo also told the media, “It was hard, it was really hard because the other teams have improved so much, there are no weak teams now,” when referring to how they forced a winner-takes-all match, “Magnolia is a really strong team, and reaching Game Seven is hard enough. Magnolia is tough, and you really can’t underestimate them.” He added, “There really is no advantage because they beat us three times, it’s really a level field. The one who will win is whoever will give their best in Game Seven.”
The two fiery teams, who’ve had an extraordinary season, will have a crowned winner by the end of Game Seven on Wednesday, May 15 at the same venue.