SAN MIG COFFEE BOUNCES BACK STRONG, TAKES 2-1 LEAD

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San Mig Coffee played big early on then shifted to a small five at the finish, rattling and running to the ground Barangay Ginebra, 97-89, in Game Three of their PLDT MyDSL PBA Philippine Cup Final Four faceoff at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City Sunday night.

Third-year guard Mark Barroca and rookie Justin Melton bannered San Mig’s quick backcourt combination in the payoff period, cutting down to size Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar and handing the Mixers the crucial 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Making the right adjustments from their 29-point blowout loss in Game Two, the Mixers have a chance to move on the threshold of the all-Filipino finals in Game Four over at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Wednesday.

“It’s gonna be a tough series. We’re still not comfortable being at 2-1. We need to play A-plus to beat this team,” said San Mig Coffee head coach Tim Cone.

Barroca and Melton led the A-1 effort put up by San Mig Coffee at the finish as the Mixers rebounded from their 64-93 blowout in Game Two.

“We deserved a good game. Last game was a blowout,” said Cone. “Too good, it was a really nice game.”

As in Game One, the Mixers curiously carved out the Game Three victory with top gun James Yap riding the bench.

Barroca, Melton, PJ Simon, Marc Pingris and Ian Sangalang, another rookie, made up San Mig’s five at the finish, outrunning and outgunning Slaughter, Aguilar, Mark Caguioa, LA Tenorio and Chris Ellis.

“We’re worried we’re a little tired mentally, but we got great contributions down the stretch. James, PJ, Ping, Rafi (Reavis) and Joe (Devance) set the tone for us and Justin and Ian picked it up in the fourth,” Cone said.

Barroca delivered a career-high 25 points and Melton pumped in two big treys, cushioning the impact of Slaughter’s 29-point performance, which was also a career-best for last year’s top rookie draft pick.

Also with Simon, Pingris and Sangalang in there, the Mixers made a key run from a slim 83-80 lead, enjoying 11-point leads in the trenches.

As Barroca fired away his first three-pointer in the series, the Mixers took their first 11-point spread at 93-82 with 1:55 left to play.

There was no stopping the Mixers from taking the crucial win from thereon.

Proving to be a big blow for the Kings were the ejection of small forward Mac Baracael early in the third quarter.

LA Tenorio knocked in a prayer of a three-pointer as the Kings seized a 47-46 lead at the half, and Melton also made a trey to close the third canto with the Mixers ahead at 71-68.

Slaughter carried much of the load early on, aggressively attacking San Mig’s post defense as the Kings erased two 15-point deficits – 21-6 and 23-8 — in the opening quarter.

The 7-foot-1 Ginebra behemoth produced 19 points with 9-of-11 charities plus nine rebounds in the first half alone, marred by technical fouls drawn by Baracael, Barroca and Cone.

Baracael and Barroca were called for double Ts for second motion. The Ginebra forward headed to the showers two minutes and 30 seconds into the third period on another technical foul incurred for vehemently complaining a ref’s call. (SB)

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