MIXERS LOOKING TO EQUALIZE
The hard way, San Mig Coffee is finding how tough Petron Blaze is.
Beaten by Petron already twice over in the tourney, San Mig coach Tim Cone loves to believe they know the Boosters better now.
He’s confident they can handle them better Sunday as they try to equalize in Game Two of the PLDT Telpad PBA Governors’ Cup best-of-seven title playoff at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“We were up by two at start the fourth quarter, then we blinked and we were down by 14. It was so quick and sudden. It was a great run by them that really broke our backs,” said Cone, recalling their 84-100 loss in the series opener.
“We’re going to be a lot more wary of their explosiveness, and make sure we do a better job of controlling the tempo. We’re looking forward to Game Two. We think we can play a lot better,” Cone also said.
Game One did look coming down to the efforts dished out by the warring teams in the final quarter.
“We played a great fourth quarter. It was a total team effort,” said Petron Blaze coach Gee Abanilla.
“We’re not really out there. It’s kind of unusual for a Finals game. I felt we played a little satisfied and happy to be in the Finals. We didn’t have a total focused effort,” rued Cone.
Needless to say, the Boosters are out to sustain their effort as they go for a commanding two games-to-nil lead in the series.
“It’s a good win and it will boost our confidence. But it would mean nothing if we don’t continue to grind and do what we’re supposed to do,” said Abanilla.
Meanwhile, Cone has become clearer on things they can’t afford to do against the playoffs top seed.
“We can’t bring any less of our best against this team,” said Cone. “We have to play harder and with a lore more effort.”
The Boosters put on display their amazing firepower in the final canto in Game One, pummeling the Mixers, 41-23.
Elijah Millsap and Chris Lutz poured in 14 and 11, respectively, as the duo outscored the entire San Mig squad in the quarter.
A big key was Petron establishing Junmar Fajardo in the paint, giving its outside gunners the confidence to shoot from afar.
Asked whether they consciously focused on defending Fajardo in the shaded lane as thought by Abanilla, Cone said: “No, not really.”
“It’s always our defensive philosophy that we do not break down. We tried, but in the fourth they started breaking us down as they started hitting their shots,” Cone pointed out.
The two teams fought tooth and nail in the first three quarters before the Boosters unleashed the full might of their arsenal in the final canto, breaking away from 59-61. (SB)
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