It's Meralco's time now, San Miguel's Fajardo concedes

MANILA, Philippines -- The Meralco Bolts’ first championship win in the PBA may be written in the stars, San Miguel Beermen center June Mar Fajardo said, as the franchise took home its maiden title on Sunday.

Meralco held on against the Beermen, 80-78, in Game 6 of the championship series.

The game went down the wire, with Fajardo tying the game up at 78 with a huge 3-pointer from way beyond.

Chris Newsome then sank the game-winning baseline jumper for the win, as Fajardo’s triple on the other end missed the mark.

In the game, the hulking giant finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and five assists.

“It may be painful to lose, but that’s how life is. We won a number of championships already, but maybe, it is Meralco’s time now,” Fajardo told reporters in Filipino after the game.

“The ball bounced their way. Maybe they are destined to win this championship.”

The Beermen have won a total of 29 championships in franchise history, the most in the league. This is also the first time they lost in the All-Filipino finals with Fajardo, after winning the past seven editions.

The big man also lauded the Bolts for the win and vowed to come back stronger.

“Let us congratulate Meralco, they played well. San Miguel, us, we will keep our heads up because it is not yet the end of the world for us,” he stressed.

“There is still the next conference so we can bounce back,” he added.

“It came down to like a loose ball. The game was good, but we lost. This is memorable for me, especially if I made that last shot. We will come back next conference.”