San Mig Super Coffee Mixers claim rare PBA Grand Slam

MANILA, Philppines – In the PBA, the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers claim a rare Grand Slam, defeating the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in a 5-game Finals series.
Jane Bracher reports.

Most teams win one championship. San Mig Super Coffee Mixers win a Grand Slam.
The Mixers defeated Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in 5 games to bag their fourth straight crown.
It’s also their third championship this season which gives them that rare title– the official Grand Slam.
Tim Cone became the only coach to achieve two Grand Slams, winning the first with Alaska in 1996. 
This is also his 18th PBA title.

TIM CONE, HEAD COACH, SAN MIG SUPER COFFEE: I’ll have to sit down, turn off the lights, think about this one and let it sink in. The journey was really a journey of amazement for me, just watching these guys day in and day out. That to me is more special, just the fact that everything they did led to today. It’s not just today, it’s about the last 10 months of how much work they did to get to where they are now.

San Mig Coffee weathered the Rain or Shine storm in Game 5’s dying minutes despite James Yap and Mark Barroca missing crucial free throws. 
Painters guard Paul Lee missed a couple of three-pointers that could have forced overtime.

PAUL LEE, GUARD, RAIN OR SHINE: Open look naman yun. Hindi lang talaga pumasok. Ganoon talaga. No regrets. Okay lang na-forget ko na yun. (I was open for the shot. It just didn’t go in. It happens. No regrets. It’s okay, I’ve already put it behind me.)

Yap was named Finals MVP for the second straight conference, finishing with 29 points in Game 5.

JAMES YAP, GUARD, SAN MIG SUPER COFFEE: Ang hirap makarating. Ang hirap mag Grand Slam. Yung team kasi namin kung meron isang down sa amin nagtutulungan kasi kami kaya siguro naging successful kami dahil yung team namin special eh. Nasasabi kong special, walang star player kasi dito eh, pantay pantay lahat. (It’s hard to reach. It’s hard to get a Grand Slam. In our team, if someone’s down, we help each other out. That’s why we’re successful. It’s a special team. There are no star players here, we’re all equal.)

It took 18 years for the Grand Slam to happen again. 
And when it did, every name on the San Mig Coffee team is permanently etched in Philippine basketball history.

JANE BRACHER, REPORTING: Dynasties and legacies don’t happen overnight. It took Cone and San Mig Coffee years worth of practice, mistakes, failures, and small victories to reach this point. And in one night, everything came together. On this night, San Mig Coffee makes history. Jane Bracher, Rappler, Manila.

– Rappler.com