Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The San Miguel Beermen capped off a dominant conference by securing the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup title in a dominant fashion.
Behind the dynamic starting five of JuneMar Fajardo, Chris Ross, Arwind Santos, Marcio Lassiter, and Alex Cabagnot, the Beermen took the entire league by storm, dropping only five games in their entire championship run.
Their 4-1 triumph over Barangay Ginebra in the Finals series means that San Miguel have won their third straight Philippine Cup trophy, becoming only the second team in PBA history to acheive the feat.
Tht TNT franchise was the first team to dominate the All-Filipino conference when they lorded over the league from 2010 to 2013.
After the confetti fell and the trophy was secured safely in their locker, SMB head coach Leo Austria called the acheivement the highlight of his career.
“For me, this is the highlight of my career no? Dahil there is only two teams na nakakakuha ng three-peat in the All-Filipino, unlike the Grand Slam,” Austria gushed. “I am only the second, I think this is harder than the Grand Slam.”
There have been four coaches who have secured the coveted Grand Slam.
The late great Baby Dalupan secured the first one with the Crispa Redmanizers in 1976, Tommy Manotoc repeated the feat for the same team in 1983, while current Meralco Bolts coach Norman Black won the Grand Slam with the San Miguel franchise in 1989.
Ginebra coach Tim Cone got there twice, once with Alaska in 1996 and most recently with the San Mig Coffee Mixers from 2013-2014.
Read: Tim Cone proud of Ginebra despite Finals defeat
Despite saying that winning three straight All-Filipino titles is more difficult, Austria was quick to downplay any talk of a Grand Slam so early into the season.
“It’s really hard to win the import conference dahil yung advantage namin in the All-Filipino is JuneMar Fajardo,” Austria admitted. “With the import, so mawawala yung advantage niya.”
But even so, the seasoned San Miguel coach says that his team will try their best to win the Grand Slam.
Related: San Miguel captures third straight Philippine Cup title at Ginebra’s expense
Right now though, the Beermen will enjoy a well-deserved break before going back into the grind to chase another trophy.
San Miguel resumes its title aspirations when the PBA tips off the Commissioner’s Cup on March 17.
