Petron holds off San Mig to force winner-take-all Game 7
(UPDATED) Their backs against the wall in a must-win Game 6, the Petron Blaze Boosters' prayers were answered, fittingly, by their import with a biblical name.
The Blaze Boosters turned to Elijah Millsap in the fourth period to turn back San Mig Coffee, 99-88, and force a do-or-die Game 7 in the PBA Governors Cup finals at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. Millsap scattered 13 of his team-high 30 points, including 11 in a crucial 13-4 run after the Coffee Mixers had grabbed their first lead in the second half at 82-80.
That run pushed Petron ahead, 93-86, heading into the last two minutes, and the Blaze Boosters went for the kill with a closing 6-2 mini-blast that was capped by a Millsap slam with less than 30 seconds left.
Towering rookie June Mar Fajardo had another double-double outing of 21 points and 14 rebounds but it was his fellow locals–reigning league MVP Arwind Santos, Alex Cabagnot, Chris Lutz and Marcio Lassiter–who backstopped Millsap in Petron’s decisive push in the crunch where they scored 19 of the last 25 points, thanks to their reinvigorated defensive stance.
Reigning Best Import Marqus Blakely led San Mig Coffee with 21 points and 11 rebounds but incurred two of his game-high five turnovers in that crucial stage that led to back-to-back buckets by the Boosters.
San Mig Coffee, despite trailing by as many as 43-59 deficit early in the third canto, uncorked one big rally after another, the last finally putting the Mixers on top at 82-80, before Petron, with Millsap taking charge, came up with one jarring blow.
Joe Devance and James Yap tallied 17 points while teammate PJ Simon scattered all but three of his 14 markers in the final canto for the Mixers.
The two teams clash in the final game of the 2012-13 PBA season on Friday also at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Main Man: Elijah Millsap wouldn’t let this one slip away.
With the Boosters teetering on the brink of a stunning meltdown, the younger brother of Atlanta Hawks forward Paul took matters into his own hands in the payoff canto, pumping in 13 of the team’s 25 points.
Even more impressive, Millsap did it while fighting through the pain in his left foot. He also had eight rebounds and six assists while putting the clamps on San Mig counterpart Marqus Blakely in the stretch.
Honorable Mention: Called out by his head coach Gee Abanilla, power forward Arwind Santos finally responded to the challenge.
The lanky 6-foot-4 forward played true to form as he finished with an all-around outing of 12 points, six rebounds, as many assists and two steals in 37 minutes of play.
On top of that, Santos proved he can hold the fort down low as he spelled towering rookie June Mar Fajardo late in the fourth canto and helped the Boosters turn the tables around the Mixers defensively.
Game Turning Point: After a Marqus Blakely lay-up put the Mixers on top 82-80 with 6:40 left to play, the Boosters refused to quit as import Millsap buckled down to work and racked up nine straight points before his local teammates made several defensive stops, leading to the team’s blinding 19-6 windup.
They Said It:
Petron Blaze coach Gee Abanilla: “We are just very happy with the opportunity presented to us. It’s a great honor to play an elite team like them especially coached by a great coach in Tim Cone. We'll come out prepared on Friday. It’s Game 7 of the finals. It’s a dream of coaches and players. In crunch time, Elijah proved he's a leader. We have to check on Alex (Cabagnot). He has some pain in his foot. Arwind (Santos) gave us a tremendous lift today. We have 100% belief in him. Hats off to Arwind for playing a good game today.”
Petron Blaze import Elijah Millsap: “I jammed it (left foot toe). Thank God because He gave me strength to fight through. It was a tough win. My team drove me in the fourth canto. I just want to do everything to help my team win. I’m ready to die on the court just to get this win. San Mig gave us a tough fight all series long.”
San Mig Coffee coach Time Cone: “We certainly had our chances. We want to avoid a winner-take-all game. Too many things can happen. We didn’t play really well tonight. We cannot play this team without firing on all cylinders. We have to be very precise in our execution in both sides of the floor. Trying to beat them three games in a row is a huge mountain to climb. We'll go at it on Friday. (Mark) Barroca struggled a little bit. Alex (Cabagnot) was playing well defensively. We made a lot of errors and we rushed our offense down the stretch.”
Petron Blaze (99) - Millsap 30, Fajardo 21, Santos 12, Cabagnot 12, Lutz 11, Lassiter 7, Tubid 6, Kramer 0, Hubalde 0, Ildefonso 0.
San Mig Coffee (88) - Blakely 21, Devance 17, Yap 17, Simon 14, Pingris 13, Reavis 4, Mallari 2, Gaco 0, Barroca 0, De Ocampo 0.
Quarters: 28-19, 52-39, 74-63, 99-88
