I remember sitting in the arena during that 2018 PBA All Filipino Cup, the energy absolutely electric as San Miguel faced off against TNT in what would become one of the most memorable championship series in recent memory. What struck me most wasn't just the star power on display, but how San Miguel transformed into this scoring juggernaut that seemed to come from everywhere at once. Game 4 particularly stands out in my memory - that was the moment when I realized we were witnessing something special, a team finding its rhythm in the most crucial part of the season.
The numbers from that game still impress me when I look back. Jericho Cruz exploding for 23 points while June Mar Fajardo and Cjay Perez provided their usual steady contributions created this three-headed monster that TNT simply couldn't contain. But what really made the difference, in my opinion, was the supporting cast - Don Trollano, Marcio Lassiter, and Juami Tiongson combining for 33 points might not sound like headline material, but when you're facing a team where even the role players are dropping double digits, it becomes psychologically draining. I've seen many teams fold under that kind of pressure, and TNT was clearly feeling it. The beauty of that San Miguel performance was how organic it felt - not forced, not reliant on one superstar having a career night, but this natural flow of scoring from multiple sources that just overwhelmed their opponents.
Looking deeper into why this worked so well, I think it came down to San Miguel's understanding of modern basketball dynamics. When you have multiple scoring threats on the floor simultaneously, defenses can't just focus on shutting down one player. They have to spread their resources thin, which creates openings everywhere. In that Game 4 performance we're discussing, what made it so effective was how different each scorer's approach was - Cruz attacking from the perimeter, Fajardo dominating the paint, Perez creating off the dribble, and then the secondary players capitalizing on the attention given to the primary threats. This wasn't accidental; this was a masterclass in offensive basketball that I believe other teams should study closely.
The solution for opponents facing such a multifaceted attack isn't simple, but from what I observed throughout that PBA All Filipino Cup 2018, teams needed to approach San Miguel differently. Rather than trying to shut down their best player, which is the traditional approach, defenses needed to disrupt their ball movement and force them into more isolation situations. The problem was that San Miguel's ball movement had become so crisp, their players so unselfish, that even when TNT tried to adjust, San Miguel had counters ready. I remember thinking during timeouts that TNT's coaching staff looked genuinely frustrated - they were throwing different defensive schemes at San Miguel, but the Beermen just had too many weapons.
What continues to fascinate me about that particular PBA All Filipino Cup championship run is how it redefined what team basketball could look like in the Philippine context. We often talk about teams having "balance," but what San Miguel demonstrated was something beyond balance - it was this synchronized scoring explosion that could come from any position at any time. The 2018 highlights don't just show one dominant performance after another; they showcase a team that understood how to leverage its depth in the most intelligent way possible. Even now, years later, I find myself referring back to that series when discussing how to build a championship-caliber team. The lesson wasn't just about having talent, but about having the right kind of complementary talent that could create these scoring avalanches when it mattered most.
The trend we saw in that series - where San Miguel consistently had multiple players contributing significant points - represents what I believe is the future of basketball in the Philippines. Teams can no longer rely on one or two stars to carry them through an entire series. The game has evolved, and the 2018 All Filipino Cup served as this perfect case study in how depth and versatility can overcome even the most talented individual opponents. When I look at current PBA teams, I still see traces of that San Miguel approach in how rosters are being constructed - there's more emphasis on having multiple players who can create their own shot, who can step up when defenses focus elsewhere. That championship didn't just award a trophy; it provided a blueprint that's influenced team building strategies ever since.