MIXERS, SANS DEVANCE, BATTLE DANGEROUS EXPRESS
For San Mig Coffee, the good news is that Joe Devance was spared of a serious injury. The bad news is Devance still needs to sit out some games, including an anticipated battle with the surging Air21 Express.
The 6-foot-7 forward will surely be missed as the Mixers face the Express and their rock-solid import Michael Dunigan in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome Wednesday night.
With Devance out, Yancy de Ocampo and Rafi Reavis must step up as they tangle with the Express and Dunigan at 7:30 p.m.
San Mig Coffee overcame a flat start and injuries to Devance and Alex Mallari as the Mixers stopped the raging Meralco Bolts, 76-71, Friday.
Despite their poor first-half and the ouster of Devance and Mallari, the Mixers stayed right behind the Bolts before sneaking in at the finish to again hit the .500 mark at 4-4.
“There were many things that didn’t go our way but we kept battling and battling. The thing I like with our team is as we struggle, we do a good job on defense,” said Cone.
True enough, the Mixers played tough defense, holding the Bolts down to 13 points in the payoff period and scoreless in the last 3:33 of play.
“Hopefully, we can carry this win over to our next game against Air21,” said Cone, whose team tries to break out of a three-way logjam at fourth with Talk n Text and Meralco.
Devance, inside the Top 20 in the statistical point race at the halfway mark of the eliminations, is out due to a hyper-extended knee. He suffered the injury while chasing a driving Cliff Hodge.
He’s expected to be back after a two-week rest, though, as he was spared of an MCL tear as feared earlier.
The Mixers’ biggest fear versus the Express should be Dunigan.
The well-built Dunigan had back-to-back monstrous performances and the Express had their first successive wins in the mid-season tourney coming at the expense of the GlobalPort Batang Pier and the Alaska Aces.
The Express hope to get going, eyeing to tie the Mixers at sixth place at 4-5. Air21 currently shares seventh place with Barangay Ginebra and Barako Bull.
Dunigan, among the leading contenders for the Best Import award at this point, went through a tough physical battle and survived, leading the Express to a 74-68 win over the league-leading Aces Friday.
“It was very physical out there, but I played along with it. I can handle it,” said Dunigan.
Dunigan was dominant in the low-scoring game, striking hardest at the finish as the Express scored a follow-up on their 106-94 triumph over the Batang Pier.
“Hopefully, we can sustain the effort. We look forward to our Wednesday game against San Mig Coffee. That’s a crucial game for us as we have six games left,” said Air21 coach Franz Pumaren. (SB)
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