By Adrian Stewart Co

The San Miguel Beermen and Magnolia Hotshots cross paths anew as they begin the 2019 Honda PBA Philippine Cup finals with Game 1 of their best-of-seven series tonight, beginning at 7:00 p.m., at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The Beermen will be seeking their fifth consecutive All-Filipino conference crown, while the Hotshots are gunning for their second straight PBA title after ruling the 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup last year.

The Beermen roster has strengthened since last year with the additions of Terrence Romeo, Christian Standhardinger, and Kelly Nabong. They also saw Ilonggo players join the team with Paul Zamar suiting up and Ronald Tubid returning to the squad. Meanwhile, they also still have June Mar Fajardo, Arwind Santos, Alex Cabagnot, Chris Ross, Marcio Lassiter, Von Pessumal, Matthew Ganuelas-Rosser, Billy Mamaril, Louie Vigil, and Yancy de Ocampo among their arsenal.

“Winning is a lifestyle for us,” said Beermen head coach Leo Austria. “We have that great passion for winning.”

However, he did acknowledge the potential challenge the team faces in the finals.

“We cannot take Magnolia for granted,” the coach added. “They will be competitive.”

For Magnolia, they will be playing with essentially the same squad that battled the Beermen in last year’s All-Filipino Cup. Aside from the addition of rookie Michael Mabulac, their roster includes Paul Lee, Ian Sangalang, Jio Jalalon, Andy Mark Barroca, Rome dela Rosa, Rodney Brondial, Justin Melton, Rafael Reavis, Robbie Herndon, Peter June Simon, Riego Gamalinda, Kyle Pascual, Aldrech Ramos, and Mon Abundo.

“We’ve gained a lot of experience,” said Hotshots head coach Chito Victolero. “Especially with the championship we won last conference.”/ASC, WDJ