MIXERS, EXPRESS SEEK TO GET GOING
Coaches Tim Cone and Franz Pumaren are among those saying the PBA Governors Cup is a virtual sprint race.
Their teams failed to come out strong of the starting block, and now face some pressure in facing each other in their second outing in the season-ending tourney.
San Mig Coffee and Air21 are aching to bounce back from defeat Wednesday as they square off at 6 p.m. at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo Saturday – the start of a series of Saturday double-headers in the Governors Cup.
The Mixers must have felt the pressure right away that they entered into a trade deal with the Barako Bull Energy Cola right after their 75-79 loss to the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
They gave away Wesley Gonzales, Chris Pacana and a future draft pick to beef up their wing rotation with Allein Maliksi.
James Yap struggled with a 1-of-14 field shooting while PJ Simon was good for only a 3-of-10 clip versus Rain or Shine.
It didn’t help that Marcus Blakely missed 13 of 19 charities. He had bungled 10 freebies before finally nailing one.
Zach Graham and his Air21 teammates were steadier, but not solid enough to withstand Globalport and debuting import Markeith Cummings.
Globalport showed a bright prospect of finally making a good run with its virtual brand new team, ripping Air21. 101-94.
“Kailangan makabawi agad. Talagang maigsi lang ang tournament na ito, at mahirap maiwanan kaagad,” said Air21 coach Franz Pumaren.
Cummings, Globalport’s prized recruit from Kennesaw State, stood his ground against the heralded Graham, coming through with 37 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Batang Pier to a triumphant debut in the tourney.
A team that underwent major revamp during the league break, Globalport notched its first win after dropping all its last 11 games in the mid-season Commissioner’s Cup. The Batang Pier had won two of their first three games in the second conference before going on a slump.
New acquisitions Jay Washington, Marvin Hayes, Yousef Taha, Chad Alonzo and JR Buensuceso helped provide push as the Batang Pier duplicated their winning start in the Commissioner’s Cup versus the Barangay Ginebra Kings.
It was their first win in four meetings with Air21. (SB)
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