San Mig Coffee’s ‘Big Three’ of James Yap, Peter June Simon and Marc Pingris just became the winningest trio in the history of the former Purefoods franchise after completing their historic Grand Slam bid in Game Five of the PLDT Home Telpad Governors’ Cup finals on Wednesday at the jampacked SMART-Araneta Coliseum. The triumvirate has delivered seven championships together, breaking the previous franchise mark of six, held by the legendary Alvin Patrimonio. Patrimonio, who is now the team manager of this Tim Cone-coached San Mig Coffee squad, could not be more proud. “Nung player ako, six championships lang ako. Now na-break na nila, ng grupong ito. Saludo ako sa kanila. Ang galing,” Patrimonio told InterAksyon after clinching the crown. Pingris, the most outspoken of San Mig Coffee’s ‘Big Three’, expressed his pride at being part of this group, especially after grabbing a piece of history together. “Gusto ko lang sabihin na very proud ako na makatrabaho si James and Peter. Dahil history yung nagawa namin. Siguro ito na yung mag-de-define ng career namin,” the hard-working forward said. “Pinagusapan nga naming gaano ka-grabe yung piangsamahan naming tatlo. Ang tagal na namin tapos ganito pala yung feeling na makukuha namin yung Grand Slam.” Simon, the quiet one of the trio, could not help but reminisce about their entry into the league so many years ago, never expecting to become one of the greatest trios in the history of the league. “Napagusapan nga naming kanina yun, binalikan naming yung 2004. Hindi namin in-e-expect na andito na kami, part na kami ng history,” Simon said. “Sinabihan nga kami ni Alvin na best team ever daw itong grupo namin, lalo na itong kay Coach Tim kasi sunod-sunod (ang championships).” Yap, who was named Finals MVP after a 29-point, eight-rebound performance in the series-clinching knockout game, said that despite all of the team’s success this season, he’s still isn’t content with what they’ve accomplished. “Hindi pa ako fulfilled, siguro more championships pa,” Yap said. (c) Paul Ryan Tan / Sports5
Posted on: Thu, 10 Jul 2014 01:30:08 +0000
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