THE next film you are about to see is the “Game of Thrones.”
No, not of the Hollywood version.
It’s purely PBA stuff: San Miguel Beer versus Magnolia.
They are starring presently in the PBA’s “Game of Thrones” because both teams are crown holders. Both in tenses past and present.
Magnolia is the newest throne-owner as it won in December the PBA Governors’ Cup, the league’s traditional season-ending conference. The first two conferences are the Commissioner’s Cup and the Philippine Cup.
San Miguel Beer owns the PBA’s last four thrones in the Philippine Cup, achieved via an astonishing record feat of winning it four successive years from 2015.
The Beermen appear ready to reap a fifth straight Philippine Cup—that is, if the Magnolia Hotshots hesitate, if not vacillate, to go all out in each and every game of their best-of-seven Finals that will start on Wednesday.
But if Magnolia’s last game were to be the gauge, the Hotshots are more than war-ready.
Down by 17 points, Magnolia mangled mind-boggling demons and eked out a 63-60 overtime victory over a stunned Rain or Shine in Sunday’s Game 7 decider.
The win easily made Magnolia some sort of the conference’s comeback kid—a la Tiger Woods’ recent Masters victory. The Hotshots were mired in misery at the start of the series with a longish cellar-sharing stint.
Barely struggling to earn a sixth spot among eight qualifiers, Magnolia kicked out crowd darling Barangay Ginebra in the quarterfinals before it outlasted Rain or Shine in the energy-sapping semifinals.
There is definitely a mismatch, stats-wise, between the current kings of thrones: SMB coach Leo Austria is into his ninth Finals (winning six) and Magnolia mentor Chito Victolero third (winning just one).
And did SMB not defeat Magnolia in this same conference finals in 2018?
Revenge for Magnolia this year, throne-retention for SMB.
Script slightly revised, but with reactivated actors.
And look, this “Game of Thrones” is “Sister Act II.” Just proves how good SMC teams are through the years. Enjoy.