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roles of the players and naiintindihan nila. That's why the team, right now, is parang family na.”
Austria is 4-and-4 in the finals, his latest victory coming at the expense of the crowd-favorite Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and coach Tim Cone – perhaps the greatest tactician of this era – a feat he described as the highlight of his career.
Ross, whose defensive plays in Game 5 capped off his second Finals MVP plum in the Philippine Cup, described Austria as the missing piece.
“It was a process,” Ross said. “Even before we had coach Todd...he was amazing for us...coach Todd kind of lay down the foundation for us about teamwork and stuff like that. And when coach Leo took over...he might have been the missing piece that we needed. He let us do what we do, and brought discipline to the team. That's what he did.
“That's kind of an old-school guy, he brought a lot of discipline to the team and we needed that. A lot of the guys at the team needed that, and a little bit of discipline goes a long way. And I thank coach for that.”
Added Santos: “Ngayon alam na ng lahat yung bawat role. Dati kasi, may mga attitude na 'Ako lang titira', walang pasahan, mga ganun. Ngayon hindi na ganun. Parang ang laki ng tiwala sa isa't-isa. Pag tumira ka, sumablay ka, nagkamali ka, okay lang, walang sisihan. Mananalo kami ng magkakasama, matatalo kami ng magkakasama.”
Santos, Fajardo, Ross, Lassiter and Cabagnot gathered anew for one final huddle, giving each other reminders and encouragements. It was San Miguel leading 87-83, 1:04 remaining in the fourth and Ginebra holding possession with 2.2 seconds left in the shot clock. In the old days, a meltdown was still a possibility.
Santos would block Japeth Aguilar's three-point try at the shot clock buzzer. Ross would score a difficult reverse layup on the ensuing play, and the Beermen were able to bring home the Perpetual Trophy.
Who would imagine such momentous feat would be achieved after Petronovela?
Dottie Ardina, Cyna Rodriguez, Mia Piccio and Princess Superal, honed by their campaigns abroad, banner the locals’ bid against a crack international field in the ICTSI Champion Tour at Splendido unfolding tomorrow at Splendido Taal Golf Club in Tagaytay.
Ardina, set to play in a number of LPGA events starting late this month, and Symetra Tour-bound Rodriguez, Piccio and Superal go up against a stellar cast led by the mainstays of the Taiwan LPGA Tour and a slew of Thai aces in the $75,000 event kicking off this year’s ICTSI Ladies Philippine Golf Tour.
The 54-hole championship, presented by Champion, also serves as the third leg of the Taiwan LPGA Tour and the first two TLPGA tournaments, the other being the ICTSI Champion Tour at Mt. Malarayat in Lipa City, Batangas next week.
Superal finished joint third in last year’s inaugural staging of the event won by Lee Jeong-hwa, who nipped Fumika Kawagishi by one in a thrilling finish. Though the Korean and Japanese won’t be around this time, the depth of the field remains as talent-laden as ever with Chen Yu-Ju, currently No. 4 in the TLPGA Order of Merit ranking, leading the foreign challenge.