SAN MIGUEL WINS THE 2025 PBA PHILIPPINE CUP

FROM INQUIRER SPORTS

Over the course of the season, San Miguel had a ton of extremely shitty imports. They fielded seven in total, and four of them made my worst imports list. Things got so bad that the Beermen even missed the playoffs in the Commissioner's Cup. The only bright spot from their early struggles was June Mar Fajardo putting up import-like numbers to keep them respectable.

On the other hand, TNT had the consistency of resident super import Rondae Hollis-Jefferson. He showed the same skills that gave him career NBA averages of 9.0 points and 5.5 rebounds over 305 games. With him on board, the Tropang Giga bagged the Governors' Cup and the Commissioner's Cup, even toppling Justin Brownlee and Ginebra in the process.

Then came the Philippine Cup, the conference that truly matters.

No imports.

Only locals.

No excuses.

But San Miguel still had June Mar Fajardo, and his presence continued to feel like they had an import anyway. TNT’s roster, unfortunately, fell apart. Jayson Castro, Rey Nambatac, JP Erram, and Simon Enciso were all sidelined by the end of the finals.

And just like that, San Miguel went from missing the playoffs to winning the 2025 PBA Philippine Cup championship.

Not only that, they once again prevented TNT from completing a grand slam.

Yes, the series went to six games. But it was wild to think that TNT managed to steal Game 5 with June Mar and CJ Perez only combining for 18 points. In Game 6, though, the two stars exploded with 24 points each, and San Miguel broke the 100-point mark.

In fact, San Miguel won three of their four games when they scored 98 or more points.

Jericho Cruz, Chris Ross, and Mo Tautuaa were crucial throughout the series. Even if TNT had Jordan Heading and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser, this was a different team compared to the first two conferences. Underrated super coach Leo Austria made all the right moves again. Throughout the Philippine Cup, he relied on Rodney Brondial and Juami Tiongson, but once the finals hit, he turned to Cruz and Tautuaa to deliver the goods.

TNT tried to rely on their surprise contributors, but San Miguel simply had more weapons. Sure, they lost Game 1 because of that controversial offensive interference call, but they got back at TNT the best way possible—by dominating the rest of the series.

TNT gave it all they had, especially considering the injuries to Erram and Enciso. But San Miguel had an army of proven veterans just waiting for their moment. Cruz, Tautuaa, Ross, Marcio Lassiter, and Jeron Teng all stepped up. Yes, Almond Vosotros had three games where he scored in double digits, but Teng dropped 10 points in just 10 minutes in Game 2.

That reminded everyone how deep San Miguel really is.

What made this series even crazier was the drama. Unlike TNT's previous championships this season, this one came with a lot of tension. The verbal clashes between Jojo Lastimosa, Jericho Cruz, and Chris Ross added a different spice. This wasn’t like the Ginebra series, where fans were mostly split because of the friendly rival atmosphere. This time, the drama pushed many neutral fans toward San Miguel.

Jericho Cruz absolutely deserved the Finals MVP. While San Miguel leaned heavily on Fajardo, Perez, and Don Trollano, Cruz became the wildcard weapon who disrupted TNT’s game plan. He didn’t have June Mar-level stats, but he gave the Beermen another scoring threat that TNT just couldn’t solve.

Props as well to Juami Tiongson and Andreas Cahilig for finally escaping the Terrafirma sinkhole. We now know the trade happened because Terrafirma was about to go under. And since no buyer wanted their franchise, at least Tiongson and Cahilig walked away with a championship.

As for TNT, let’s not forget that winning two of three conferences is still an incredible achievement. They may have fallen short of the grand slam again, but they beat a Brownlee-led Ginebra and a tough Rain or Shine squad three times in the semis. Given their roster struggles, a lesser team would have collapsed by the eliminations.

Next season will be interesting for Chot Reyes. He’ll have to manage a roster filled with returning injured players and new key pieces. And yes, I still think they made the right call parting ways with Mikey Williams. Jordan Heading adapted quickly, played with poise, and brought none of the drama. If he was meant to be a consolation prize, TNT definitely got the better end of the deal. Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser also deserves recognition. He had 16 blocks in six games. Despite battling foul trouble, he gave June Mar some tough moments.

Still, this championship is all about June Mar Fajardo. This should solidify his ninth MVP award. With two Best Player of the Conference trophies and another championship, it’s clear that as long as he controls the paint, San Miguel will always be a contender. Their failure with imports only reinforced that their true cheat code is June Mar, especially in the all-Filipino conference.

He has now won 11 titles, 12 BPCs, and is firmly in the conversation as the greatest player in PBA history.

So congratulations to the San Miguel Beermen for a well-deserved and dominant Philippine Cup victory.