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| San Miguel denied TNT the grand slam again. PBA Images |
PASIG--Fourteen years ago, TNT was one championship away from winning the PBA grand slam until the team rammed into a gritty Petron squad in the Governors' Cup Finals.
Fast forward to Friday night, and the club, now back to its more well-known name, San Miguel, slammed the treble again.
The Beermen denied the Tropang 5G from completing what would have been the sixth PBA season sweep with a 107-96 win in Game 6 of the Philippine Cup Finals at the jampacked PhilSports Arena.
It took another buzzer-beating four-pointer from CJ Perez to end the first half to spark SMB's breakaway in the third quarter, just like in Game 2, eventually opening an 86-67 lead at the end of the third.
TNT tried to fight back in the fourth period, but the team only came as close as 11 right at the final buzzer.
CJ Perez and June Mar Fajardo each scored 24 points, with the latter also grabbing 12 rebounds for the Beermen, who now have 30 PBA titles in their 50 years in Asia's premier professional basketball league.
Calvin Oftana could not sustain a solid start but still led the Tropang 5G with 19 points, four rebounds, three assists, and four steals.
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