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'Super Bowles' spanks Talk 'N Text anew

After three disappointing losses, San Mig Coffee had seen enough.

With import Denzel Bowles doing what he does best, the ailing Mixers finally crashed into the PBA Commissioner's Cup win column with a gutsy 90-82 victory over formidable Talk ‘N Text Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Reeling from an alarming three-game skid including a 65-93 wipeout inflicted by Rain or Shine last Friday, San Mig Coffee drew a superb 29-point, 23-rebound performance from Bowles, who played the hero in last year’s Game 7 of the Commissioner's Cup Finals when the Mixers upstaged the Tropang Texters in an epic title showdown.

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“Coach Tim (Cone) really motivated us that we should never give up. We know how to win but we just lost a couple of games. We felt really good (tonight) and I got myself going, I really felt the same, old me,” stated Bowles, the reigning Best Import awardee who mightily bounced from an anemic 12-point, 14-rebound comeback stint against the Elasto Painters.

Despite a foul-plagued six-point outing from former two-time MVP James Yap, the San Mig Coffee locals mad their presence felt, led by PJ Simon’s 13 points along with Marc Pingris’ 12 and Joe DeVance’s 11.

But the 6-foot-10 Bowles clearly owned counterpart Keith Benson and the Tropang Texters, notably in the fourth where the Mixers import pumped in 14 of the team’s 27 markers.

“He got rebounds and he got the big shots. Bowles had three practices before his first game. He hasn’t played since October. He was just rehabbing his knee. He’s in gym-shape, not in game-shape. Denzel’s too skilled not to be a good player in our league,” stressed Cone.

Jayson Castro collected a team-high 18 points while Benson added 16 markers for the Tropang Texters, who saw their two-game winning run cut short while dropping to 2-2.

After an entertaining first half highlighted by Bowles’ 15-point output that gave San Mig Coffee a 44-41 cushion, Talk ‘N Text got going in the third and even led by as many as 66-58 off a Harvey Carey undegoal stab with 1:08 to go.

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The final canto, however, saw Bowles dominate, just like he did in the overtime period of that epic Game 7 last year.

Saving his best for last, Bowles threw his full weight around every TNT defenders, sparking the Mixers’ decisive 14-3 charge capped by a dunk off a Mark Barroca feed for a 77-71 cushion with 6:07 to go.

The Texters then answered back with a 7-2 run that cut it to a solitary point with 3:32 remaining.

Then Bowles racked up five straight points–a completed three-point play and a face-up jumper against Benson–that restored SanMig Coffee’s lead to 84-79, time down to just 1:51.

Baskets by Ranidel De Ocampo and Castro sandwiched a Pingris lay-up before Bowles drained two free throws, making it a six-point game with 36.9 ticks left.

In the Texters’ final possession, Castro was smothered in his lay-up then Pingris put the icing on the cake with a dunk, sending the Mixers faithful into a frenzy.

“We always try to preach it’s not when you fall down, it’s how we get up. That’s so true in life, so true in basketball. It’s also the first time in my career to be in tambakan two games in a row. I’m just proud of the guys for stepping up,” noted Cone, who could finally breathe a big sigh of relief.
 
 
The scores:
 
SAN MIG COFFEE (90) – Bowles 29, Simon 13, Pingris 12, Devance 11, Barroca 9, Yap 6, Gaco 4, Najorda 2, Reavis 2, De Ocampo 2, Mallari 0.

TALK 'N TEXT (82) – Castro 18, Benson 16, Reyes 14, Alapag 8, Al-Hussaini 7, Fonacier 6, Williams 4, Carey 4, Dillinger 3, De Ocampo 2, Aban 0.
Quarterscores: 17-17, 44-41, 63-68, 90-82