The 2009 PBA Fiesta Conference Finals was the best-of-7 championship series of the 2009 PBA Fiesta Conference and the conclusion of the conference's playoffs. The series was a best-of-seven affair and was the 97th championship disputed in the league. The teams competing are first-seed San Miguel Beermen and the second-seed defending champions

Barangay Ginebra Kings A barangay (; abbreviated as Brgy. or Bgy.), historically referred to as barrio (abbreviated as Bo.), is the smallest administrative division in the Philippines and is the native Filipino term for a village, district, or ward. In metropolitan ...

, two of the three

San Miguel Corporation San Miguel Corporation, abbreviated as SMC, is a Philippine Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila. The company is one of the largest and most diversified congl ...

-owned teams. This was the fourth time the two teams meet in the finals, with San Miguel winning their first two meetings ( 1989 Reinforced Conference and the

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

All Filipino Cup). Barangay Ginebra won their latest finals meeting on the conclusion of the 2006–07 PBA Philippine Cup. This was also the first time in PBA history that a champion of the previous year's Fiesta Conference was able to enter the finals to defend their crown. After a full 7-game series, San Miguel held off Ginebra in game 7 with an emphatic 90–79 win, with Jonas Villanueva awarded as the Finals MVP.

Background

Road to the finals

Series summary

Game 1

Game 2

With just a few seconds before the game ended, and with a San Miguel win certain, San Miguel players

Danny Ildefonso Danilo Ildefonso (born December 9, 1976) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. He is currently an assistant coach for both the Converge FiberXers of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and the NU Bulldogs of the UAAP. Nick ...

and

Marc Pingris Jean Marc Prado Pingris Jr. (born October 16, 1981) is a Filipino former professional basketball player. Known as one of the best defenders and rebounders in PBA history, he was named one of the league's 40 Greatest Players. He spent 14 season ...

were involved with an altercation with a Ginebra fan. Both men were suspended for one game and were fined P30,000 and P10,000 respectively.

Game 3

The Kings, after falling behind by 12 points, outscored the Beermen by 11 points in the third quarter and another 15 points in the final quarter to have a come-from-behind victory to take the series lead. Noel had a triple double and had key plays during the decisive Ginebra run.

Game 4

A close game all-throughout with as many as 18 deadlocks in between, Freeman converted a

three-point play In basketball, a three-point play is usually achieved by scoring a two-point field goal, being fouled in the act of shooting, and scoring one point on the subsequent free throw. Before the three-point field goal was created in the 1960s for profes ...

to increase San Miguel's lead to five; SMB led by as much as 8 in the final two minutes when Ginebra had another run.

Eric Menk Eric Conrad Menk (born August 24, 1974) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player who played in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) and the Asean Basketball League. Known as Major Pain, Menk is a four-time PBA champion ...

and

Chico Lanete Chico A. Lanete (born August 1, 1979) is a Filipino professional basketball coach and former player. He is the head coach for the Chooks-to-Go 3x3 pro circuit teams. In 5×5 full court basketball, he last played for the Bicol Volcanoes of the Mah ...

scored to cut the lead to two. Noel tied the ballgame after shooting two free throws off a foul from San Miguel, but Freeman scored on a put-back off

Mike Cortez Mike Salonga Cortez (born November 10, 1980) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player. He last played for the Blackwater Elite of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Cortez gained prominence in the amateur ranks for ...

's miss. With less than 30 seconds left, Freeman fouled Noel beyond the three-point line on the act of shooting; Noel missed all of this free-throws, and San Miguel hung on to tie the series 2–2.

Game 5

The fifth game of the series was rescheduled to July 13 since the Araneta Coliseum was not available due to a

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event Event may refer to: Gatherings of people * Ceremony, an event of ritual significance, performed on a special occasion * Convention (meeting), a gathering of individuals engaged in some common interest * Event management, the organization of e ...

on July 10 and a UAAP doubleheader on July 12.Lack of venue forces PBA to set Game 5 on Monday
GMANews.tv

Game 6

Game 7

Rosters

Broadcast notes

The finals is the second championship series of '' The PBA on C/S''.

References

External links

PBA official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fiesta Conference Finals 2009

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

2008–09 PBA season San Miguel Beermen games Barangay Ginebra San Miguel games PBA Fiesta Conference Finals