THE San Miguel Beermen turned to their veterans to survive the Barangay Ginebra Kings, 100-93, in their sudden-death Game 7 duel in the 49th PBA Philippine Cup on Wednesday night, July 9, at the Araneta Coliseum.

San Miguel won the best-of-seven semifinal series, 4-3, as they advanced to the Finals and earned the right to face the TNT Tropang Giga.

The Tropa are seeking a rare Grand Slam. They clinched the first championship ticket by dispatching the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in their semifinal series, 4-2.

San Miguel is looking to win its first All-Filipino Cup title since 2022.

The veteran duo of June Mar Fajardo and Chris Ross delivered the goods, providing the Beermen the needed steadying presence in the no-tomorrow match.

Despite being hobbled by calf issues, Fajardo still finished with a monster 21-point, 19-rebound performance. Ross was all over the court as he tallied 19 points, seven assists, four steals, and three rebounds.

CJ Perez and Moala Tautuaa helped the Beermen’s cause by adding 5 and 14 points, respectively.

Jamie Malonzo fired 22 points, Scottie Thompson finished with 16, while Troy Rosario and RJ Abarrientos put in 15 each but Ginebra failed to complete what could have been a third championship meeting with TNT.

THE SCORES:

SAN MIGUEL (100) - Fajardo 21, Ross 19, Perez 15, Tautuaa 14, Trollano 10, Tiongson 6, Brondial 6, Lassiter 5, Cruz 4.

GINEBRA (93) - Malonzo 22, Thompson 16, Abarrientos 16, Rosario 15, Holt 12, J.Aguilar 12, David 0, Ahanmisi 0, Tenorio 0.QUARTERSCORES: 17-23, 45-44, 66-73, 100-93.(CCM)

• Tags
• #San Miguel Beermen
• #Barangay Ginebra Kings
• #Game 7
• #49th PBA Philippine Cup
• #June Mar Fajardo
• #Chris Ross