MANILA, Philippines – The last time Kelly Nabong was part of a team that made it to the championship round, it did not go very well.

Nabong memorably got into an on-court spat with Meralco assistant coach Jimmy Alapag during Game 1 of their semifinals series against Star in last year's PBA Governors' Cup. The team soon suspended him, and he never played another minute for the Bolts even as they progressed all the way to the finals.

The volatile big man was released in the offseason, and eventually signed a contract with GlobalPort. In late June, he was traded to San Miguel Beer – where he has found a role as June Mar Fajardo's back-up and the team's resident enforcer.

• READ: Nabong moves on from Meralco, focuses on GlobalPort

Nabong is clearly relishing his stint with San Miguel Beer and the veteran could not hide his delight on Sunday when the Beermen defeated the Alaska Aces, 104-99, to wrap up their semis series and punch their ticket to the finals.

• READ: Arwind Santos predicts a San Miguel-Ginebra finals

"Hell yeah, back to the finals, let's go!" yelled Nabong, who scored six points in under 10 minutes of action in Game 4.

"I want to thank San Miguel management and the coaching staff for bringing me over in such a time," added the 6-foot-5 forward, who was traded to SMB last June 21 only, and has since been a fixture in Leo Austria's rotation.

"I mean, damn! We're going to the finals."

Nabong was part of the Meralco team that made a breakthrough finals appearance in the 2016 PBA Governors' Cup, but that series is best remembered for Justin Brownlee's championship-winning shot. Of course, Nabong did not play at all when the Bolts returned to the Governors' Cup finals last year.

This time around, Nabong wants his trip to the championship round to be more memorable.

"I'm enjoying every single day of it," said Nabong, who is averaging 6.67 points and 2.33 rebounds per game for the Beermen. "The dream is not over yet."

"We still need four more wins to get the crown again," he added. "We made it to the finals, but we're not done yet. We still got a mountain to climb."

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