As expected, San Miguel looks to flex its muscle, while Magnolia hopes to bring back the flash of dominance it had years ago when the two begin the best-of-seven Finals series on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The survivors of the tight eliminations contest sum it all up in the epic battle for the Jun Bernardino Trophy of the Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup.
The Beermen seeks their fourth straight title, while the Hotshots targets to halt the streak and win their first All-Filipino title since 2014.
Both coaches expect a semblance of rivalry when the game starts at 7 p.m. With more than three dozen of trophies held by their franchises, San Miguel and Magnolia just hope to extend the winning tradition.
“It will be very exciting. It’s not easy to get a championship. We’ll do our best,” three-time Coach of the Year Leo Austria of the Beermen said.
The soft-spoken June Mar Fajardo, who has taken himself to new heights with four Most Valuable Player awards and possibly his sixth Best Player of the Conference plum this tournament, reminisced the journey they had in the eliminations.
The 6-foot-10 behemoth also shared the moment when he cried after the then-Petron Blaze Boosters got beaten by the San Miguel Coffee Mixers, which is now Magnolia, in the 2013 Governors’ Cup Finals.
All he wanted is payback, and now is the perfect time, according to the Cebuano pride.
“They made me cry. It was in my rookie year,” Fajardo said. “This is the opportunity to avenge that loss.”
All eyes are also on the Hotshots and Chito Victolero, who is making his first stint in the Finals as a head coach.
Victolero knows that even the best has its flaw, and they will try their best to expose it.
“I’m sure they have their weakness, but we also have to play good,” he said.