GAME 1 TO SAN MIG SUPER COFFEE
The opposing coaches agreed it’s about energy and intensity.
Curiously, the supposed exhausted side beat out the rested team in this setto.
Playing a ninth playoff game in 20 days, San Mig Super Coffee still fought with much stronger legs, overwhelming Talk n Text, 95-80, in the opener of their PLDT Home TVolution PBA Commissioner’s Cup best-of-five championship series at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Friday night.
The Mixers outran and outgunned the Tropang Texters, ending the TnT gang’s hopes for a perfect journey in the mid-season tourney.
“It’s about energy and intensity. And they simply outplayed us with their energy,” said Talk n Text coach Norman Black.
“They’re more aggressive than we were. They really denied us on what we wanted to do. They came out with a lot of intensity and forced us with a lot of turnovers. It’s uncharacteristic of us, but it happened,” Black also said.
San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone didn’t want to gloat, saying they didn’t play the real Talk n Text team in this game.
“They’re obviously not sharp. They committed uncharacteristic turnovers. They had uncharacteristic misses,” said Cone.
“I don’t want to lessen our energy and defense. But truly, they weren’t the same team tonight. We didn’t see the real Talk n Text team tonight. And I’m sure we’re gonna see them Sunday,” Cone insisted.
After the dominant ride that saw them sweep their first 13 games in the conference, the Texters fell with a loud thud.
They saw the end of their unbeaten run against a team coming out for this game with just a day of Game One preparation.
“We just talked. I told the guys ‘put the drills in your mind so that when you come out, you can execute.’ They did that,” said Cone.
The Mixers, who struggled from the elims through the semifinals versus the Air21 Express, stoked the fire of their Game Five victory in the semis Wednesday.
James Yap, PJ Simon, Mark Barroca, Ian Sangalang, Marc Pingris and James Mays all put in double-digit outputs for the Mixers, who pummeled the Texters in the last three quarters to hack out the dominant win.
From a 44-40 count at halftime, the Mixers established momentum in the third quarter and pounced on the Texters to the finish.
Following missed free throws by Devance, Mays pulled down the offensive rebound and made a bucket before the buzzer sounded, giving San Mig Coffee a 44-40 lead at the half.
After the two teams fought to a 17-all tie in the opening quarter, the Mixers cashed in on a better board work, putting up eight second-chance points as they sat on that four-point margin at the turn.
The Texters didn’t get a single offensive rebound and a single second-chance point as they hit at a high 69.2-percent clip in the second period.
Then the Mixers pushed up the tempo as they widened the gap, 66-49, in the third frame. (SB)
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