MIXERS GET READY TO PARTY AT PHILSPORTS
For the first time in a while, the PBA revisits its old haunt in Pasig City – the PhilSports Arena, formerly ULTRA.
The venue of several epic PBA wars, the 10,000-seater playing arena could become a party place for San Mig Super Coffee and a graveyard of a failed bid for Talk n Text.
Or it could see a Talk n Text fightback that would forge a do-or-die setto in the PLDT Home TVolution PBA Commissioner’s Cup best-of-five finale.
History beckons San Mig Super Coffee.
One final reckoning, meanwhile, is what Talk n Text wants done.
Game time is at 8 p.m. Thursday and, if ever, the Mixers would be the first PBA team to score a hat trick since coach Jong Uichico also authored three straight championships for San Miguel Beer starting in the 2000 Commissioner’s Cup.
Before the dominant run of that SMB team led by Danny Ildefonso and Danny Seigle, the other teams which had done the trick were Crispa (twice in their golden era in the 70s to the early 80s), Great Taste (1984-85), the 1989 San Miguel Beer grand slam team and Alaska (1996 and 1997-98).
Prior to their own run, San Mig Coffee had never won successive championships.
But with the indomitable spirit of James Yap, Marc Pingris, PJ Simon and their teammates, the Mixers are about to break new ground, threatening to steal the show from the TnT team now on the rim of disintegration after a rock-solid 13-game romp from the eliminations to the semifinals.
Suddenly, Talk n Text is on the ropes and San Mig Coffee on the verge of a great championship.
The Mixers are on a place they want to be at this point, curiously, after finishing five full games behind the frontrunner in the elims then needing to go through sudden deaths in the quarterfinals and in the semis.
It could have been the other way around if the Mixers didn’t find a way to wiggle out of a four-point deficit entering the final minute of Game Three Tuesday at the Big Dome.
James Mays came through with a big three-point play off Ranidel de Ocampo and then James Yap knocked in an equally huge corner jumper, and the Mixers snatched a 77-75 victory to gain the crucial 2-1 series lead.
Needless to say, the Mixers want to deliver the killer blow in Game Four.
“For us to do that, we’ll need a better effort than what we gave in each of the first three games of the series,” said San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone.
“We’ve got to figure a way to get them uncomfortable again. We need to be ready and willing to grind out a win,” Cone also said.
The Mixers held the Texters to conference-low outputs in winning Game One, 95-80, and Game Three, 77-75.
After blowing what had seemed a won ball game Tuesday, Talk n Text coach Norman Black said: “It was a hard-fought game, and San Mig came out on top. We’ve got to put this one behind us.”
Put this one behind them and step up, or the Texters put to naught their dominant run in the tourney. (SB)
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