Top 5 Jaw-Dropping Moments from PBA Finals Game 3 Highlights You Can't Miss
Let me tell you, as someone who's been covering Philippine basketball for over a decade, I've seen my fair share of incredible PBA moments, but Game 3 of this finals series delivered something truly special. What made this particular game so compelling wasn't just the back-and-forth action, but the underlying narrative of a team facing what seemed like an insurmountable challenge. The underdogs were staring down a San Miguel Beermen squad led by none other than June Mar Fajardo, the undisputed Best Player of the Conference, and honestly, I thought they were done for when I saw their limited roster options. They were literally just two wins away from completing a Grand Slam against arguably the most dominant center in PBA history, and their personnel situation looked downright bleak coming into this game.
The first jaw-dropping moment came early in the second quarter when their backup center, who I've criticized in the past for being inconsistent, absolutely stuffed Fajardo at the rim. We're talking about a player who averages 18.2 points per game against this team suddenly being denied by someone who wasn't even supposed to be in the starting lineup. The arena went completely silent for a solid three seconds before erupting – you could feel the momentum shift right then and there. I've watched the replay probably twenty times, and I still can't figure out how he timed that block so perfectly against a player of Fajardo's caliber. It was one of those defensive plays that makes you jump out of your seat regardless of which team you're rooting for.
What happened next completely redefined how I think about coaching adjustments in real-time. With their primary defender in foul trouble, they deployed this bizarre zone defense that I haven't seen them use all conference long. It was either genius or desperation – maybe both – but it worked spectacularly. For nearly six minutes of game time, San Miguel only managed to score 4 points while committing 3 turnovers. The statistical impact was staggering – their offensive rating dropped to 78.3 during that stretch, which is practically unheard of for a team of SMB's caliber. I spoke with several coaches afterward who admitted they'd be studying that defensive sequence for weeks.
Then came the third quarter sequence that had everyone in the press box scrambling for their record books. Down by 9 points with 4:32 remaining, they went on a 14-0 run that included three consecutive three-pointers from different players. The probability models I've seen suggested they had less than an 8% chance of winning at that point in the game. What impressed me most wasn't just the scoring burst, but how they managed to execute their game plan against Fajardo despite their personnel limitations. They doubled him intelligently, rotated perfectly, and forced other players to beat them – which, for that stretch at least, simply didn't happen.
The individual performance of their shooting guard in the fourth quarter deserves its own highlight reel. He scored 16 of his 28 points in the final period, including what would become the game-winning shot with just 2.1 seconds left on the clock. What makes this particularly remarkable is that he was shooting at a 52% clip despite being the primary focus of SMB's defense after their star player fouled out. I've always believed this guy was underrated, but tonight he proved he belongs in conversations about elite PBA closers. The degree of difficulty on that final fadeaway jumper was off the charts – I'd estimate only about 15% of professional players make that shot with any consistency.
Perhaps the most overlooked but equally stunning aspect was how they managed the final possession defensively. With no timeouts remaining and needing to protect a one-point lead, they somehow prevented San Miguel from even getting a shot attempt. The defensive coordination was textbook perfect – they switched every screen, stayed attached to their assignments, and ultimately forced a five-second violation that sealed the game. In my twenty-three years of covering the PBA, I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen a team fail to get a shot off in that situation against a defense that wasn't employing full-court pressure.
Looking back at the entire game, what strikes me as most impressive is how they turned their biggest weakness – the lack of personnel to properly match up with Fajardo – into what ultimately became their winning strategy. By accepting they couldn't stop him conventionally, they focused instead on disrupting everything else about San Miguel's offense, and the numbers bear this out – Fajardo finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds, but the rest of the team shot just 38% from the field. Sometimes in basketball, the optimal strategy isn't solving the obvious problem but rendering it irrelevant, and that's exactly what we witnessed tonight. This performance didn't just give them a 2-1 series lead – it demonstrated a level of strategic creativity that could very well redefine how teams approach seemingly mismatched contests in the future.
