WORLD WAR II FOR SAN MIG COFFEE, ALASKA
VETERAN mentor Tim Cone has just gone through what he termed as a “coach’s dream game.”
It’s now time for Cone and his San Mig Coffee team to go for a dream goal when they shoot for a 2-0 lead against Alaska Monday in their PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals duel at at the MOA Arena.
A followup to their 71-69 squeaker in the best-of-five series opener last Saturday is what the Mixers are gunning for but Cone firmly believes his crew would still have its hands full for the remainder of the Cebuana Lhuillier-sponsored playoffs.
“Game 1 was as tight as it could be and we’re not expecting anything less from Game 2,” said Cone.
“Alaska came out with a great defensive gameplan that we’re going to have to solve before this series is over. We do feel that we still have better basketball in us going into Game 2.”
San Mig better find a solution to the Alaska defensive puzzle if it hopes for the 2-0 lead which only three teams in league history have overcome.
It is precisely falling into such a hole that Alaska is trying to avoid and it is expected to go all-out to even up the series, which resumes May 8 following the All-Star Weekend in Digos City.
Last Saturday the Aces matched the defending champions’ defensive intensity and pressure, resulting in a low-scoring first half for both teams and a game that had eight deadlocks, 13 lead changes and neither team leading by more than six points.
“Every game is gonna be like this. It’s going to be down-the-wire, highly physical, highly emotional and it’s gonna come down to who makes the big shots down the stretch,” said Cone afterwards.
“It was a magnificent battle. Maybe not a pretty game because it was all about defense, but there was a lot of heart displayed on both teams. Everybody had to bleed for points. Every time you score it’s so exciting because you hardly get to score,” added Cone.
“This game is really a coach’s dream game. Maybe it’s not a fans’ dream game because of the low scores, but truly a coach’s dream game.”
Cone could afford to be enthusiastic since Denzel Bowles rose to the occasion by shrugging off his shooting woes and draining three crucial jumpers inside the last 71 seconds, including a 14-footer that would prove to be decisive basket with only 6.8 seconds left.
“They had a brilliant gameplan coming in. They really stymied our offense, we couldn’t get the ball to Denzel except in the last three possessions,” said Cone.
“He just made real difficult shots and we pulled out the win. It wasn’t like their defense broke down. They were right there. I’ve said it before, he’s a big game guy, big moment guy. He knows how to step up in big moments. He’s just got that instinct, and it’s kinda special.”
Paving the way for Bowles’ endgame heroics were San Mig’s locals, led by Mark Barroca, PJ Simon and James Yap. Barroca scattered 12 of his 13 points in the third quarter, Simon notched a teamhigh 15 points and Yap 10 on top of eight rebounds despite a bulging disc on his lower back.
“It’s not gonna hold him back, but it is causing pain,” related Cone. “It’s just a matter of pain management for him. It’s not gonna get worse, according to the doctors, if he continues to play, but it will be painful.”
Rob Dozier wound up with gamehighs of 21 points and 15 rebounds, but he was the lone Alaska player in double figures as the likes of Cyrus Baguio and Jayvee Casio combined for only 13 points. (NC)
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