RIZAL, Philippines – Alex Cabagnot tipped his hat to San Miguel after a hard-fought quarterfinal series in the PBA Governors’ Cup that nearly saw him and Converge upset his former team.
Cabagnot said the Beermen lived up to their billing as a champion team after outlasting the FiberXers, 109-105, in their do-or-die Game 5 in Antipolo on Sunday, October 6, to complete the semifinal cast.
“I knew what they were going to do. I kind of had a feeling what they’re going to do and they did do that,” said Cabagnot, who played 12 seasons with San Miguel and helped the franchise capture nine titles.
“They have certain pieces, they have championship pedigree. So they stayed calm when they needed to. Kudos to them. Kudos to San Miguel.”
A battle-tested guard, the 41-year-old played his heart out in the sudden death, finishing with 14 points on a 4-of-6 clip from three-point range with 3 rebounds and 3 assists as he provided youthful Converge a veteran presence.
Cabagnot sank his final triple with four minutes remaining that gave the FiberXers a 102-101 lead.
But Converge fell short of a historic semifinal appearance after failing to contain reigning eight-time MVP June Mar Fajardo, who put the Beermen on his back with 40 points and 24 rebounds.
“We needed a few stops and we couldn’t get any. That’s how basketball is. Especially with a high-octane team like San Miguel, you can’t go possession for possession with them,” said Cabagnot.
“You got to at least stop them a couple of times and that’s something we didn’t get to do.”
While the FiberXers overachieved by pushing San Miguel to the limit after trailing 0-2 in the best-of-five affair, the defeat marked a poignant moment for Cabagnot, who is playing in his 18th PBA season.
“Losing to a championship team last year and a finals team last year by 4 points, it’s a moral victory. But on my end, moral victories are very difficult for me to swallow at the moment because I’m 41 already,” said Cabagnot.
“There’s not a lot of basketball left in me, that’s why I’m feeling a little bit sad.”
Still, Converge broke through this conference as it returned to the quarterfinals after a forgettable campaign last season and claimed its first-ever playoff win.
“Going to the deep end with San Miguel is definitely a moral victory for us,” Cabagnot said. “Sometimes moral victories are nice but if you want have that championship mindset, there’s no moral victories.”
“But as of right now, it’s something that we can build off.” – Rappler.com
