SAN MIG COFFEE A WIN FROM FINAL 4
San Mig Super Coffee continued its amazing run Tuesday, turning back Talk n Text, 90-83, in the opener of their PLDT myDSL PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinal duel at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Super Coffee Mixers, who spent the early weeks of the conference languishing in the cellar, notched their fifth win in a row and are now just a win away from booking a seat in the Final Four. They get the first of two cracks on Friday.
With coach Tim Cone’s gunners ablaze, San Mig Coffee enjoyed a 50-35 bulge early in the third canto.
The Texters did mount a comeback with Danny Seigle and Jayson Castro on the firing end. They threatened at 66-71 with 10 minutes remaining but another torrent of buckets on the other end put the game on ice for San Mig.
PJ Simon led the Mixers with 20 points while Castro topscored for the Texters with 24.
San Mig Coffee pushed reigning three-time all-Filipino champ Talk n Text to the edge as the Super Coffee Mixers sustained the winning form they built in the late stage of the elimination round and dominated the Tropang Texters yet again in Game One of their PLDT MyDSL PBA Philippine Cup best-of-three quarterfinals showdown at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The Mixers stoked the fire of their four-game closing romp in the elims capped by their 100-87 conquest of Talk n Text Friday, repeating over the Texters, 90-83, Tuesday night for the decisive head start in the short series.
PJ Simon went 7-of-14 from the field and finished with a game-high 20 points that went with seven rebounds, leading the Mixers to the threshold of the Final Four of this tourney they ruled in 2010 before the Texters succeeded and started their reign.
“We had a pretty good start and we played well from start to finish,” said San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone.
“I wish it was a knockout game. Hopefully, we can repeat on Friday. We’ve got to figure out how to beat them one more time,” Cone added.
Marc Pingris churned out double-double numbers with 13 rebounds and 10 markers while Joe Devance, Mark Barroca and James Yap put in together 34 points as the Mixers roared on, withstanding a Talk n Text side reinforced by the acquisition of KG Canaleta and the return of Kelly Williams and Ryan Reyes.
Canaleta knocked in two treys and a twinner in his Talk n Text debut.
The Mixers performed well in a defensive battle early on then beat out the Texters in a shooting contest later on.
“I’ve got veterans and they perk up come playoff time. They know what the playoffs is about. This is the time when you create your reputation, your contracts. They perk up. You can see that during practices,” said Cone.
“PJ had a great game. James played well and so did Ping. We hustled a lot and we got a lot of offensive rebounds. Mark was quick on the floor,” Cone added.
The Mixers did do all of those things as they dealt the Texters another neat spanking.
They created some distance in the second quarter and hung in there to the finish, thus, preserving a perfect run in the 2014 stretch of the Philippine Cup.
Leading by eight, 40-32, at the turn, San Mig Coffee stretched it to 15 on a 10-3 opening run in the final half.
And they hardly relaxed till the end. (SB)
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