MARQUS Blakely just can't and won't forget the ride.
It's about this date back in 2014 when Blakely became part of a historic tale in the local pro league, helping the San Mig Coffee Mixers (now Magnolia Hotshots) complete only the fifth grand slam in PBA history.
Blakely evoked feelings of nostalgia when he posted a collage of the images of the 2013-14 San Mig Coffee team on Instagram, reminding #itsouranniversary.
"Honored and grateful to be part of this brotherhood," said Blakely, the champion import upending then Best Import winner Arizona Reid in the finale as the Mixers pulled through and joined Crispa, San Miguel Beer and Alaska Milk in an elite roster of PBA grand slam winners.
Blakely and his teammates beat out the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in a stretched-out best-of-five title series and thus adding the Governors Cup plum to their earlier wins in the Philippine Cup and Commissioner's Cup.
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San Mig locals making history as grand slammers were James Yap, Joe Devance, Marc Pingris, PJ Simon, Mark Barroca, Rafi Reavis, Ian Sangalang, Allein Maliksi, Jerwin Gaco, Yousef Taha, Justin Melton, JR Cawaling, Lester Alvarez, Alex Mallari and Ronnie Matias.
Tim Cone, meanwhile, solidified his legacy as he distinguished himself as the first twice grand slam-winning coach in the league.
James Yap exploded for 29 points while Blakely collected 16 markers and eight rebounds as the Mixers scored a 92-89 decision to wrap up the Governors Cup diadem and the Triple Crown on July 9.
It was a classic showdown with no team winning back-to-back games in that finale.
San Mig Coffee prevailed in the opener then Rain or Shine twice evened up to send the series to a do-or-die situation - cliffhanger for the Mixers and their grand slam aspiration.
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Earlier, San Mig beat the same rival to take the all-Filipino crown, with Barroca winning the Finals MVP honors.
Then, the Mixers put themselves in a position to chase a third and final gem to a treble when they captured the Commissioner's Cup, toppling Talk n Text in the championship series, 3-1.
And as they braced for a date with destiny, they brought back Blakely.
A champion import in the previous Governors Cup, Blakely would repeat the feat and thus would be part of the team that would be looked up to for a long time.(SB)
