SAN MIG SUPER COFFEE WINS IN OT
San Mig Super Coffee outhustled and outlasted Air21 in overtime, 113-109, in the PLDT Home Telpad PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Monday.
The Mixers came through with clutch free throws while holding the Express scoreless in the last 3:37 of extra time to notch their fifth win in seven starts and move within half a game of idle leader Talk n Text.
Marqus Blakely came up big for the Grand Slam-seeking Mixers, scoring 13 in the fourth quarter, and nabbing seven of San Mig’s eight overtime points to finish with 36 points, alongside 17 rebounds, seven assists, seven blocks, and three steals.
“He was wonderful, but we can’t use him as our crutch,” said San Mig coach Tim Cone of the reigning Governors’ Cup Best Import. “I felt we went to him too much. We put too big of a load in him. We were posting him up everytime. He had three or four spectacular blocks when he had five fouls.”
“We got to carry our own load at this point. Guys like PJ, James (Yap), Ping, Joe (Devance), and Mark (Barroca), they have to carry their own load. They can’t just rely on Marqus all the time. But that’s what Marqus is all about. He’s Mr. Everything, he does everything for us but it’s difficult if we get into that habit of putting much pressure on him to do everything.”
Peter June Simon also had 17 points, while Marc Pingris chimed in a double-double of 14 markers and 10 rebounds, to go with five assists. Allein Maliksi also had 11.
Joseph Yeo sent the game into overtime with a three-pointer that tied the count at 105-105, time down to 1.9 ticks. He then scored four points in extra time before the Express fell silent.
“We were lucky to escape with this win tonight,” Cone said. “We feel we’re not where we need to be. We’re not playing the same defense we’ve been playing, and we’re kind of out of wack a little bit, but to be able to come out and win a game like this, when you’re not at your best, it’s important down the stretch this conference.”
Cone stressed the urgency for his team to at least get one win in their final two outings, against Talk ‘N Text and Rain or Shine, to secure a top four spot in the quarterfinals, which guarantees the squad a twice-to-beat advantage.
“We got two games left. You don’t want to put yourselves on an almost impossible situation to beat a top team like Talk ‘N Text, or San Miguel Beer, or Ginebra, or Rain or Shine,” he said.
“Getting to the top four is absolutely crucial. This win will help us get there, but I still feel that we need at least one more and we got probably the best two playing teams coming up in Talk ‘N Text and Rain or Shine. Our job is still very, very hard. But hopefully, these top teams will get us prepared to the playoffs. You play tough opponents going to the playoffs. You have to play on a high level. They get you ready, and that’s the way we’re going to look at it. Next two games will hopefully get us ready for the playoffs.”
Sutton led Air21 with 22 points and 13 rebounds, while Asi Taulava had his own double-double of 21 markers and 12 boards.
Yeo finished with 20, with 17 coming in the fourth and overtime periods, while rookie Eliud Poligrates had nine of his 17 points in the fourth off the bench. (RL)
The scores:
San Mig Coffee 113- Blakely 36, Simon 17, Pingris 14, Maliksi 11, Melton 9, Yap 9, Barroca 6, Devance 4, REavis 4, Mallari 3, Sanggalang 0.
Air 21 109 — Sutton 22, Taulava 21, Yeo 20, Poligrates 17, Ramos 8, Villanueva 6, Camson 6, Borboran 5, Menor 2, Cardona 2, Villanueva 0, Burtscher 0, Atkins 0.
Quarters: 21-27; 48-43; 80-69; 105-105; 113-109.
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