SAN MIG SUPER COFFEE UP 2-0
It was a defensive masterpiece as San Mig Super Coffee took a commanding 2-0 series lead over Talk ‘N Text with a 93-85 victory in their PLDT Home Telpad PBA Governors’ Cup best-of-five semifinals Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Marqus Blakely was phenomenal in the game as he did everything for the Coffee Mixers with 19 points, 10 rebounds, four assists, two steals, and two blocks.
Joe Devance, who was battling back spasms in Game 1, came out of the gates firing with his 13 first quarter points and ended up with 19, while Mark Barroca just missed out on a double-double with his 13 markers and nine boards.
“It seems like we were in control pretty much the whole game until the end of the third quarter,” said San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone, as his squad raced to a 13-1 start and erected a 20-point lead, 42-22, midway through the second quarter.
It was a woeful first half for TNT, as they were limited to a 27 percent shooting clip from the field, in contrast to San Mig’s 45-percent.
“We just came out real well and surprised them with our zone to start the game and kind of got them on their heels. They kind of played on their heels all night. They never really got their rhythm and never really got their shots going. They did miss a number of three-point shots that I was cringing every time a shot went up that would rim out or go long, then take a big sigh of relief. It was just one of those nights where their shots weren’t falling,” Cone said.
The Grand Slam-winning mentor, who is looking for his second this season, also managed to get significant contributions from ailing stars James Yap (foot) and Peter June Simon (back), as the two combined for 17 points.
“PJ was wincing. I subbed him out one time when he landed badly and he kind of felt his back, but he kept on playing out there. And then James is having problems with his foot. He wanted to come out in that last few possessions cause his foot was bothering him, so we’ll see how that goes for Monday and see if they could stay available,” Cone said, also noting that Marc Pingris sprained his ankle in this game. “We’ll just struggle through it.”
From being down 20, Talk ‘N Text slowly nipped the lead behind Niño Canaleta and Paul Harris in the third quarter and and got to as close as five, 59-64, at the end of the period.
But San Mig unloaded another 8-0 spurt to start the fourth and kept a 10-point breathing room leading to the final minute.
Ranidel de Ocampo and Harris still tried to stage one last fightback for the Tropang Texters, which would prove to be futile as San Mig kept its composure and canned four straight freebies to put the game on ice.
“We were fighting ourselves the whole time because we really knew that in any moment, they’re gonna make a huge run on us. And they did, they got back from 20 (points) down to five, but we got a response for them every time and guys kept their poise and we pulled it out,” Cone said.
“Guys like Alex (Mallari), Mark (Barroca), and Ian (Sangalang) stepped up today. We got a lot of guys. Joe (Devance) was incredible all night long on both sides of the floor,” he said. “We got a lot of help from a lot of people tonight. That’s been the story of our team this whole year. We get it off from a lot of different sources.”
San Mig had 12 blocks in the game, compared to only four for the Tropa. The Coffee Mixers also punished Talk ‘N Text’s 12-of-35 shooting from threes by outrebounding them, 55-44.
Though his squad is just one win away from making a return trip to the Finals, Cone is still on his heels knowing that they are going to face a Talk ‘N Text squad whose backs are now against a wall.
“This team is capable of putting up three really good games. We’re gonna see of we could get out there and get one of them,” he said.
“The old cliche is that two games don’t make a series. It’s a best-of-five. It’s only two and we need only one, and if any team is capable of coming back, (Talk ‘N Text) is. We’d rather be in this position than the other one. We’re feeling blessed that we’re up 2-0.” (RL)
The scores:
SAN MIG SUPER COFFEE 93 – Blakely 19, Devance 19, Barroca 13, Yap 9, Pingris 8, Mallari 8, Simon 8, Sangalang 7, Maliksi 2, Taha 0, Melton 0.
TALK N’ TEXT 85 – Harris 33, Castro 12, De Ocampo 9, Canaleta 8, Williams 7, Alapag 6, Carey 4, Reys Ryan 2, Reyes Rob 2, Baclao 0, Fonacier 0.
Quarterscores: 32-13, 47-34, 64-59, 93-85
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