Barangay Ginebra San Miguel as 2013-2014 PBA Philippine Cup Semifinals Winners, Not!

The 2013-2014 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup has just culminated with the San Mig Coffee Mixers emerging as champions in the best-of-seven finals. It can be noticed, however, that as of March 2, the playoffs flowchart on SPIN.ph shows that the Barangay San Miguel Ginebra defeated San Mig Coffee Mixers in the best-of-seven semifinal series. (By the way, these squads are sister teams).

Philippine basketball fans know that San Miguel Coffee Mixers won over Barangay Ginebra San Miguel in a tightly contested series. Considering that Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is the crowd favorite, is the 4-3 result indicated in the flowchart an honest mistake or wishful thinking among its legions of fans? Time will tell if the team will be luckier at the 2014 PBA Commissioners' Cup which will start on March 5.

Screen grab from SPIN.ph

PBA Action in 2006: Helterbrand vs. Reavis

The photo below originally appeared in the sports section of the May 18, 2006 issue of The Philippine Star. Photographed by Jun Mendoza, the caption was "Jayjay Helterbrand of Ginebra soars for a shot against Rafi Reavis of Coca-Cola in last night's game at the Araneta Coliseum."

Ginebra and Coca-Cola refer to the Philippine Basketball Association teams Barangay Ginebra Kings and Coca-Cola Tigers. Ginebra San Miguel Kings is currently known as Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. On the other hand, the Coca-Cola Tigers disbanded in 2012. Its franchise was acquired by the Sultan 900 Inc., the company that owns the current PBA team GlobalPort Batang Pier.

How about the players involved? Helterbrand continues to play for his team, while Reavis is now part of the San Miguel Coffee Mixers. Interestingly, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and San Mig Coffee Mixers are facing each other in the best-of-seven semifinal series of the 2013-14 PBA Philippine Cup.