2016–17 San Miguel Beermen season explained

Team:	San Miguel Beermen
Pbayear:	2016–17
Coach:	Leo Austria
1C-Name:	Philippine Cup
1C-Wins:	10
1C-Losses:	1
1C-Place:	1
1C-Playoffs:	Champions (Defeated Barangay Ginebra, 4–1)
2C-Name:	Commissioner's Cup
2C-Wins:	9
2C-Losses:	2
2C-Place:	1
2C-Playoffs:	Champions (Defeated TNT, 4–2)
3C-Name:	Governors' Cup
3C-Wins:	7
3C-Losses:	4
3C-Place:	6
3C-Playoffs:	Quarterfinalist (lost to Barangay Ginebra with twice-to-win disadvantage)
Owners:	San Miguel Brewery, Inc. (a San Miguel Corporation subsidiary)
Prevseason:	2015–16
Nextseason:	2017–18

The 2016–17 San Miguel Beermen season was the 42nd season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

Key dates

2016

• October 30: The 2016 PBA draft took place at Midtown Atrium, Robinson Place Manila.

Draft picks

See main article: article and 2016 PBA draft.

Regular draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	PBA D-League team	College
2	6	Rashawn McCarthy	Guard		AMA Online Education Titans	Old Westbury
3	14	Jovit Dela Cruz	Guard		LiverMarin Guardians	SSC-R

Philippine Cup

Eliminations

Game log

|- style="background:#cfc;"| 1| November 20| Star| W 96–88| June Mar Fajardo (25)| June Mar Fajardo (16)| Alex Cabagnot (8)| Smart Araneta Coliseum
| 1–0|- style="background:#fcc;"| 2| November 30| Phoenix| L 85–92| June Mar Fajardo (19)| June Mar Fajardo (23)| Chris Ross (7)| Ynares Center
| 1–1|- style="background:#cfc;"| 3| December 3| Alaska| W 93–88| June Mar Fajardo (23)| June Mar Fajardo (22)| Chris Ross (7)| Smart Araneta Coliseum
| 2–1|- style="background:#cfc;"| 4| December 11| Mahindra| W 94–91| June Mar Fajardo (28)| June Mar Fajardo (15)| RR Garcia (5)| Smart Araneta Coliseum
| 3–1|- style="background:#cfc;"| 5| December 17| NLEX| W 106–80| Alex Cabagnot (18)| June Mar Fajardo (12)| Chris Ross (5)| Xavier University Gym
| 4–1|- style="background:#cfc;"| 6| December 28| Meralco| W 101–86| Marcio Lassiter (21)| June Mar Fajardo (14)| Chris Ross (5)| Cuneta Astrodome
| 5–1|- style="background:#cfc;"| 7| January 6| Blackwater| W 118–93| June Mar Fajardo (25)| Cabagnot, Ross (9)| Chris Ross (11)| Mall of Asia Arena
| 6–1|- style="background:#cfc;"| 8| January 8| Barangay Ginebra| W 72–70| Alex Cabagnot (16)| Marcio Lassiter (13)| Marcio Lassiter (4)| Smart Araneta Coliseum
| 7–1|- style="background:#cfc;"| 9| January 13| Rain or Shine| W 107–101 (OT)| June Mar Fajardo (25)| June Mar Fajardo (17)| Ross, Santos (5)| Mall of Asia Arena
| 8–1|- style="background:#cfc;"| 10| January 21| GlobalPort| W 106–100| Arwind Santos (31)| June Mar Fajardo (15)| Chris Ross (9)| Hoops Dome
| 9–1|- style="background:#cfc;"| 11| January 28| TNT| W 98–94| June Mar Fajardo (20)| June Mar Fajardo (22)| Chris Ross (9)| Ynares Center| 10–1

Playoffs

Game log

|- style="background:#cfc;"| 1| February 5| Rain or Shine| W 98–91| RR Garcia (25)| June Mar Fajardo (14)| Chris Ross (4)| Ynares Center
| 1–0|- style="background:#cfc;"| 1| February 8| TNT| W 111–98| Marcio Lassiter (22)| Fajardo, Lassiter (8)| Chris Ross (10)| Smart Araneta Coliseum
| 1–0|- style="background:#fcc;"| 2| February 10| TNT| L 85–87| June Mar Fajardo (25)| Arwind Santos (12)| Chris Ross (7)| Mall of Asia Arena
| 1–1|- style="background:#fcc;"| 3| February 12| TNT| L 92–98| Cabagnot, Lassiter (18)| Fajardo, Lassiter, Ross (9)| Alex Cabagnot (7)| Smart Araneta Coliseum
| 1–2|- style="background:#cfc;"| 4| February 14| TNT| W 97–86| Chris Ross (31)| June Mar Fajardo (15)| Marcio Lassiter (10)| Mall of Asia Arena
| 2–2|- style="background:#fcc;"| 5| February 16| TNT| L 94–101| Arwind Santos (18)| June Mar Fajardo (15)| Cabagnot, Lassiter, Ross (4)| Smart Araneta Coliseum
| 2–3|- style="background:#cfc;"| 6| February 18| TNT| W 104–88| June Mar Fajardo (23)| June Mar Fajardo (21)| Cabagnot, Lassiter (7)| Mall of Asia Arena
| 3–3|- style="background:#cfc;"| 7| February 20| TNT| W 96–83| Fajardo, Santos (22)| June Mar Fajardo (19)| Chris Ross (10)| Mall of Asia Arena
| 4–3|- style="background:#cfc;"| 1| February 24| Barangay Ginebra| W 109–82| Fajardo, Ross (17)| June Mar Fajardo (8)| Chris Ross (8)| Mall of Asia Arena
| 1–0|- style="background:#fcc;"| 2| February 26| Barangay Ginebra| L 118–124 (OT)| Arwind Santos (23)| Arwind Santos (15)| Chris Ross (11)| Quezon Convention Center
8,000| 1–1|- style="background:#cfc;"| 3| March 1| Barangay Ginebra| W 99–88| Chris Ross (24)| June Mar Fajardo (18)| Chris Ross (8)| Smart Araneta Coliseum
16,773| 2–1|- style="background:#cfc;"| 4| March 3| Barangay Ginebra| W 94–85| Fajardo, Lassiter (20)| June Mar Fajardo (13)| Chris Ross (9)| Smart Araneta Coliseum
17,146| 3–1|- style="background:#cfc;"| 5| March 5| Barangay Ginebra| W 91–85| Fajardo, Santos (21)| Ross, Santos (8)| Chris Ross (10)| Smart Araneta Coliseum
20,217| 4–1

Commissioner's Cup

Eliminations

Game log

|- style="background:#cfc;"| 1| April 2| Meralco| W 99–92| June Mar Fajardo (24)| Fajardo, Rhodes (12)| Alex Cabagnot (9)| Smart Araneta Coliseum| 1–0|- style="background:#cfc;"| 2| April 7| Phoenix| W 110–88| June Mar Fajardo (22)| Rhodes, Santos (10)| Alex Cabagnot (7)| Mall of Asia Arena| 2–0|- style="background:#cfc;"| 3| April 16| Star| W 103–97| Charles Rhodes (29)| June Mar Fajardo (11)| Cabagnot, Ross (4)| Smart Araneta Coliseum| 3–0|- style="background:#cfc;"| 4| April 19| Mahindra| W 109–80| Alex Cabagnot (26)| Charles Rhodes (18)| Cabagnot, Rhodes (4)| Cuneta Astrodome| 4–0|- style="background:#cfc;"| 5| April 22| Rain or Shine| W 111–98| Charles Rhodes (26)| Alex Cabagnot (9)| Alex Cabagnot (7)| Mall of Asia Arena| 5–0|- align="center"|colspan="9" bgcolor="#bbcaff"|All-Star Break|- style="background:#fcc;"| 6| May 5| TNT| L 103–112| Charles Rhodes (43)| Cabagnot, Lassiter, Rhodes (8)| Chris Ross (10)| Smart Araneta Coliseum| 5–1|- style="background:#cfc;"| 7| May 19| NLEX| W 114–112| Charles Rhodes (37)| Charles Rhodes (19)| Chris Ross (11)| Cuneta Astrodome| 6–1|- style="background:#fcc;"| 8| May 21| Barangay Ginebra| L 99–107| Charles Rhodes (26)| June Mar Fajardo (14)| Chris Ross (9)| Mall of Asia Arena| 6–2|- style="background:#cfc;"| 9| May 27| Alaska| W 109–97| Alex Cabagnot (25)| Cabagnot, Rhodes (10)| Chris Ross (10)| Ynares Center| 7–2|- style="background:#cfc;"| 10| May 31| Blackwater| W 124–113| Charles Rhodes (32)| Charles Rhodes (9)| Chris Ross (13)| Cuneta Astrodome| 8–2|- style="background:#cfc;"| 11| June 2| GlobalPort| W 112–101| Charles Rhodes (34)| Alex Cabagnot (10)| Chris Ross (7)| Smart Araneta Coliseum| 9–2

Playoffs

Game log

|- style="background:#cfc;" | 1| June 6 | Phoenix | W 115–96| Marcio Lassiter (26)| Charles Rhodes (11)| Chris Ross (10)| Smart Araneta Coliseum | 1–0|- style="background:#fcc;" | 1| June 10 | Star | L 105–109| Charles Rhodes (34)| Rhodes, Ross (10)| Chris Ross (15)| Smart Araneta Coliseum | 0–1|- style="background:#cfc;" | 2| June 12 | Star | W 77–76| Charles Rhodes (21)| Charles Rhodes (10)| Lassiter, Ross (4)| Mall of Asia Arena | 1–1|- style="background:#cfc;" | 3| June 14 | Star | W 111–110| Charles Rhodes (36)| Fajardo, Ross (8)| Chris Ross (8)| Smart Araneta Coliseum | 2–1|- style="background:#cfc;" | 4| June 12 | Star | W 109–102| Alex Cabagnot (26)| Charles Rhodes (10)| Chris Ross (10)| Mall of Asia Arena | 3–1|- style="background:#fcc;" | 1| June 21 | TNT| L 102–104| Charles Rhodes (31)| Fajardo, Rhodes (13)| Chris Ross (12)| Smart Araneta Coliseum | 0–1|- style="background:#cfc;" | 2| June 23 | TNT| W 102–88| June Mar Fajardo (22)| Fajardo, Rhodes (11)| Chris Ross (9)| Smart Araneta Coliseum | 1–1|- style="background:#cfc;" | 3| June 25| TNT| W 109–97| Alex Cabagnot (28)| Charles Rhodes (20)| Marcio Lassiter (7)| Smart Araneta Coliseum | 2–1|- style="background:#fcc;" | 4| June 28| TNT| L 97–102| Charles Rhodes (22)| June Mar Fajardo (9)| Alex Cabagnot (5)| Smart Araneta Coliseum | 2–2|- style="background:#cfc;" | 5| June 30| TNT| W 111–102| Alex Cabagnot (28)| Charles Rhodes (14)| Chris Ross (11)| Smart Araneta Coliseum | 3–2|- style="background:#cfc;" | 6| July 2| TNT| W 115–91| Charles Rhodes (30)| Alex Cabagnot (12)| Alex Cabagnot (11)| Smart Araneta Coliseum | 4–2

Governors' Cup

Eliminations

Game log

|- style="background:#cfc;" | 1| July 29| Blackwater | W 118–93| Lassiter, McKines (19)| Wendell McKines (12)| three players (5)| Ynares Center | 1–0|- style="background:#cfc;" | 2| August 2| TNT| W 97–91| June Mar Fajardo (27)| Wendell McKines (9)| Chris Ross (10)| Smart Araneta Coliseum | 2–0|- style="background:#fcc;" | 3| August 4| Star | L 98–104| Wendell McKines (27)| Wendell McKines (22)| Chris Ross (8)| Smart Araneta Coliseum | 2–1|- style="background:#cfc;" | 4| August 25| GlobalPort | W 115–112| Wendell McKines (35)| Wendell McKines (14)| McKines, Ross (7)| Smart Araneta Coliseum | 3–1|- style="background:#fcc;" | 5| August 27| NLEX | L 100–103| Wendell McKines (28)| Wendell McKines (14)| Chris Ross (11)| Smart Araneta Coliseum | 3–2|- style="background:#fcc;" | 6| September 2| Alaska | L 79–90| Arwind Santos (29)| June Mar Fajardo (14)| Chris Ross (4)| Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena | 3–3|- style="background:#cfc;" | 7| September 6| Rain or Shine | W 103–96| Chris Ross (27)| June Mar Fajardo (14)| Gabby Espinas (5)| Smart Araneta Coliseum | 4–3|- style="background:#cfc;" | 8| September 10| Barangay Ginebra| W 107–103| Terrence Watson (28)| Terrence Watson (17)| Cabagnot, Ross (5)| Smart Araneta Coliseum | 5–3|- style="background:#cfc;" | 9| September 16| Kia| W 118–112| June Mar Fajardo (41)| June Mar Fajardo (17)| Alex Cabagnot (8)| Mall of Asia Arena | 6–3|- style="background:#cfc;" | 10| September 20| Phoenix| W 109–107| Terrence Watson (26)| June Mar Fajardo (17)| Alex Cabagnot (6)| Ynares Center | 7–3|- style="background:#fcc;" | 11| September 24| Meralco| L 101–104| June Mar Fajardo (26)| Terrence Watson (10)| Cabagnot, Ross (7)| Smart Araneta Coliseum | 7–4

Playoffs

Game log

|- style="background:#fcc;"| 1| September 27| Barangay Ginebra| L 84–104| Terrence Watson (30)| June Mar Fajardo (22)| Chris Ross (7)| Mall of Asia Arena| 0–1

Transactions

Trades

Governors' Cup

Rookie signings

Player	Number	Position	Date signed	School/club team
Arnold Van Opstal^[4]	7	Center	align=center rowspan=2		DLSU
Rashawn McCarthy	10	Guard	SUNY-Old Westbury

Free agency

Subtraction

Player	Number	Position	Reason left	New Team
Gary David^[6]	20	Guard	Waived	Mahindra Floodbuster
Nelbert Omolon^[7]	21	Forward	Retired
Michael Mabulac	28	Forward	Waived	San Miguel Beermen
Chris Lutz^[8] ^[9]	3	Guard	UFAWR2S	Meralco Bolts

Recruited imports

Conference	Name	Country	Number	Debuted	Last game	Record
			0	April 2 (vs. Meralco)	July 2 (vs. TNT)	17–5
			18	July 29 (vs. Blackwater)	August 27 (vs. NLEX)	3–2
			10	September 2 (vs. Alaska)	September 6 (vs. Rain or Shine)	1–1
			24	September 10 (vs. Barangay Ginebra)	September 27 (vs. Barangay Ginebra)	3–2

Awards

Recipient	Award	Date awarded	Ref.
Alex Cabagnot	Philippine Cup Player of the Week	January 7, 2017	^[10]
June Mar Fajardo	Philippine Cup Best Player of the Conference	March 3, 2017	^[11]
Chris Ross	Philippine Cup Finals Most Valuable Player	March 5, 2017	^[12]
	Commissioner's Cup Player of the Week	June 5, 2017	^[13]
	Commissioner's Cup Best Player of the Conference	June 28, 2017	^[14] ^[15]
Charles Rhodes	Commissioner's Cup Best Import of the Conference
Alex Cabagnot	Commissioner's Cup Finals Most Valuable Player	July 2, 2017	^[16]
Chris Ross	Governors' Cup Player of the Week	September 11, 2017	^[17]
	Most Improved Player Award	October 20, 2017	^[18]
June Mar Fajardo	Most Valuable Player Award
Honors
June Mar Fajardo	All-Defensive Team	October 20, 2017
Chris Ross
June Mar Fajardo	First Mythical Team
Chris Ross
Alex Cabagnot
Arwind Santos

Notes and References

1. http://www.spin.ph/basketball/news/rr-garcia-to-smb-ramos-to-star-mallari-arana-to-mahindra-in-3-team-trade RR Garcia to SMB, Ramos to Star, Mallari, Arana to Mahindra in 3-team trade
2. http://www.spin.ph/basketball/news/rr-garcia-matt-ganuelas-rosser-trade-san-miguel-talk-n-text San Miguel sends RR Garcia to TNT for Matt Ganuelas-Rosser in rare trade between rivals
3. http://pba.inquirer.net/84738/san-miguel-acquires-pessumal-trades-van-opstal-globalport San Miguel acquires Pessumal, trades Van Opstal to GlobalPort
4. Web site: Van Opstal, McCarthy ink separate rookie deals with SMB. foxsportsasia.com. Richard Dy. November 15, 2016. November 21, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161121175743/http://www.foxsportsasia.com/en-ph/pba/news/detail/item556927/van-opstal-mccarthy-ink-separate-rookie-deals-smb/. November 21, 2016. dead.
5. Web site: Signed by San Miguel in lieu of David Semerad who has been relegated to team's Injured/Reserve list. pba.ph. January 5, 2017. January 7, 2017.
6. Web site: Gary David stint with San Miguel ends abruptly as Beermen let go of veteran gunner. spin.ph. November 6, 2016. November 21, 2016.
7. Web site: SMB veteran Bitoy Omolon retires at age 36, opts to focus on his agribusiness. spin.ph. November 19, 2016. November 21, 2016.
8. Web site: Chris Lutz have been move to UFAWR2S list. pba.ph. January 5, 2017. January 7, 2017.
9. Web site: Chris Lutz leaves SMB, joins Meralco Bolts. rappler.com. January 16, 2017. January 17, 2017.
10. Web site: Player of the Week: Cabagnot shows way for red-hot Beermen . January 7, 2017 . Inquirer.net . March 3, 2017.
11. Web site: Fajardo ties mentor Ildefonso's record with fifth Best Player of Conference award . Sacamos . Karlo . . March 3, 2017 . March 3, 2017.
12. Web site: San Miguel completes PBA three-peat by holding off Ginebra rally in Game Five thriller . Sacamos . Karlo . spin.ph . March 5, 2017 . March 5, 2017.
13. Web site: All-around game earns Ross Player of the Week citation . June 5, 2017 . pba.ph . June 5, 2017.
14. Web site: Ross Cops BPC Plum, Rhodes Wins Best Import Award . June 28, 2017 . PBA.ph . June 29, 2017.
15. Web site: San Miguel playmaker Chris Ross named Best Player of the Conference . Ballesteros . Jan . . June 28, 2017 . June 28, 2017.
16. Web site: Beermen Claim PBA Commissioner's Cup Championship . PBA.ph . July 2, 2017 . July 2, 2017.
17. Web site: San Miguel can count on Ross when it matters most . September 11, 2017 . pba.ph . September 11, 2017.
18. Web site: Fajardo, Pogoy big winners at The Leos . October 20, 2017 . PBA.ph . October 23, 2017.