CLOSING out a series has always been one of the toughest challenges, especially when you face a team such as Barangay Ginebra, a team known for its famous Never-Say-Die attitude.
The San Miguel Beermen will get their chance to finish off the gritty Kings on Sunday, July 6, 2025, as they gun for a series-clinching win in Game 6 of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup semifinal showdown.
Action starts at 5 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
It promises to be a blockbuster Sunday double-header with TNT Tropang Giga also eyeing a finals berth in the other semifinal series, as they take another crack at closing out their own Final Four duel.
San Miguel grabbed the 3-2 upper hand in the series after a convincing 103-92 victory in Game 5, fueled by strong performances from June Mar Fajardo, CJ Perez and Jericho Cruz.
“Game 5 was pivotal, malaki ang tsansa to get to the series kung sino ang makakuha nito. But we still have a lot of work to do, especially ang kalaban natin eh ‘Never Say Die,’” said San Miguel head coach Leo Austria.
The Beermen also want to reassert their dominance in the All-Filipino tournament, a conference long regarded as their stronghold. Their last Philippine Cup championship came in 2022.
Despite being down, the Kings aren’t waving the white flag just yet.
Ginebra coach Tim Cone is counting on his squad to rediscover their shooting rhythm in a bid to force a deciding Game 7.
“We’ll regroup, we’ll practice, and see if we could come up with a big performance (on Sunday),” said Cone.
True to their tradition, Ginebra isn’t backing down.
“The old cliché, it takes four to win, it doesn’t take three,” Cone added. “It’s not a five-game series, it’s a seven-game series.” / RSC