The 1997 San Miguel Beermen season was the 23rd season of the franchise in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).
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Summary
Former national coach Ron Jacobs is the new San Miguel head coach following Norman Black's resignation and transfer to the Mobiline franchise. On February 21, Ron Jacobs ushered his comeback in local basketball in the Beermen's 70-66 victory over Purefoods Corned Beef Cowboys, which also had a new head coach Eric Altamirano, in both teams' first game of the season. The Beermen had to win their last two games in the eliminations to enter the All-Filipino Cup semifinal round with an even 7-7 slate, they won four of their eight semifinal assignments. The Beermen placed fourth, losing to Sta.Lucia in a one-game battle for third place.
Import Jeff Ward led the Beermen to the finals playoff match against Gordon's Gin Boars, with Alaska Milkmen clinching the first finals seat in the Commissioner's Cup. Ward played his heart out and battled cramps in San Miguel's 100-106 double-overtime loss to Gordon's Gin in their knockout game on August 24. The Beermen managed to finish third in the conference, winning over Sta.Lucia without Jeff Ward and playing with only seven men.
The Beermen brought in Larry Robinson as their import in the Governor's Cup. San Miguel advances into the best-of-five semifinal series outright, topping the eliminations with 9 wins and 5 losses and were tied with Alaska and Sta.Lucia. The Beermen played the Purefoods Carne Norte Beefies in the semifinal series and led 2 games to 1, the Beefies bounce back with victories in Games 4 and 5 to frustrate San Miguel's bid for a finals berth for the second time in the season.