WIPING OUT FATIGUE
PETER June Simon treats each PBA game as another day in the office. And though he has been playing under the shadow of two-time PBA MVP James Yap for a long time, Simon continues to display his workman-like attitude as he tries to help San Mig Super Coffee win a rare Grand Slam at the end of the league’s 39th season.
The 5-11 Simon averaged 21.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists to spearhead the Mixers’ three straight victories in a matter of six days, earning him the Accel-PBA Player of the Week in the process as he beat out Talk ‘N Text guard Jimmy Alapag for the weekly citation.
“Sabi lang ni coach (Tim Cone) na kailangang maging aggressive sa offense at defense,” said Simon.
“Nakita naman namin talaga na medyo pagod din, pero ang maganda kapag nalabanan mo yung pagod, napakasarap ng feeling. Eh ito ang maganda eh, kapag nananalo ka, nakakawala ng pagod,” he added.
Simon shot an efficient 10-of-13 from the floor en route to a team-high 22 points to lead the Mixers’ second half blitzkrieg en route to a 108-90 drubbing of the Meralco Bolts on May 27.
Three days later, Simon fired a personal conference-high of 24 points, as the Mixers recovered from a 17-point second half deficit to turn back the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 92-82.
Simon then celebrated his 34th birthday on Sunday with a bang as the defending Governors’ Cup champions gunned down previously unbeaten Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 102-90.
The Makilala, North Cotabato native shot 19 points, going 9-of-13 from the floor against the Kings to help San Mig grab the solo lead with its 4-1 win-loss record overall.
San Mig, which has ruled the last three PBA conferences, is bidding to become just the fourth team in PBA history to win a grand slam after the legendary Crispa Redmanizers, San Miguel Beermen and the Alaska Aces. (RD)
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