IT CAN’T be helped. San Miguel Beer on the brink of elimination remains the clubhouse talk. That’s because the Beermen got themselves clobbered by TNT on Sunday (Jan. 26, 2025) at the Ynares Center in Antipolo, City.
With the loss, San Miguel finished with a 5-7 win-loss card in the 13-team PBA Commissioner’s Cup, where the Top 8 squads will advance to the next round.
By getting tossed to 10th spot, the Beermen’s fate of sneaking into the quarterfinals is no longer in their own hands but will hinge on the outcome of games of their closest rivals for the coveted eighth slot: NLEX and sister-team Magnolia.
Both NLEX and Magnolia sport an identical 5-6 card going into their respective last assignments.
SMB is praying hard that NLEX and Magnolia would both lose to Hong Kong Eastern and Meralco, respectively, to forge a three-way knockout among San Miguel, NLEX, and Magnolia for the eighth and final ticket to the quarters.
It’s sheer survival, indeed, for the Beermen and it hurts that they no longer have the physical means to do it.
They had an opening against TNT, leading by 46-45 at one point, but they just couldn’t sustain their assault against a Tropang Giga crew that buried 14-of-35 three-point shots and 2-of-4 from four-point country.
TNT’s 115-97 win was huge because it pushed the Tropang Giga to a solid 8-3 record to stay a strong second behind surprise 9-3 top-notcher NorthPort.
The telco giant can mimic NorthPort’s twice-to-beat bonus with a win in its last elimination outing.
“What I’ve learned in this win is life’s unpredictability,” said TNT coach Chot Reyes. “The best you can do is give yourself a shot. And in this win, we gave ourselves a shot.”
The Beermen also tried to give themselves a shot, but only June Mar Fajardo proved successful, submitting 34 points and 13 rebounds in a virtual Lone Ranger job.
SMB import Malik Pope didn’t deliver, as usual, coming up with only 10 points on a dismal 5-of-15 clip from the field and 7 rebounds in 30 minutes of action.
The import business was what actually felled SMB, with Pope being the fourth recruit in an array of disappointing reinforcements for the powerhouse team that has the league’s most number of championships with 29.
The clubhouse talk buzzes on.