San Mig bounces back to tie finals series at 1-1
(UPDATED) Stung the last time out, San Mig Super Coffee made sure there won’t be any close call this time.
Aggressive offensively and tenacious defensively throughout, the Super Coffee Mixers romped past the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters Sunday 80-70 to even their PLDT-myDSL PBA Philippine Cup finals showdown at one game apiece at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Putting into good use the bitter lesson they learned following an 80-83 setback in the opener two days ago, the Mixers immediately employed an unforgiving defense then shattered an early 4-all count by racking up 12 unanswered points and never gave the cold-shooting Painters any chance to survive in eking out the surprisingly easy win.
Game 3 is set this Wednesday also at the Big Dome.
Guard PJ Simon tallied a team-high 15 points while four other teammates added at least 10 markers but it was the Mixers’ collective unforgiving defense from the get-go that spelled the big difference, limiting the Painters to just 37.2 percent (29-of-78) shooting from the field.
Jeff Chan was the lone bright spot for the Painters with a team-high 18 points but the rest of his teammates groped for form, including Game 1 hero Paul Lee who could only come up with seven points.
Looking refreshed and revitalized, the Mixers jumped the gun on the Painters, turning a 4-all count into a 10-point lead before limiting their rivals to just 24 markers at the break.
Then San Mig Super Coffee continued to pour it on in the third canto, taking its lead to as high of 15 points, 58-43 off a Yap triple.
Rain or Shine then reeled off eight consecutive points bridging the last two cantos to pull within 51-58 but that proved to be its last hurrah as San Mig Coffee uncorked a telling 13-2 run that put the result beyond doubt going to the last eight minutes.
Aside from gaining enough momentum going to Wednesday’s Game 3 also set at the Big Dome, San Mig Super Coffee also snapped Rain or Shine’s mastery at six games since winning Game 5 of their semis battle in last season’s All-Filipino conference.
The Main Man: The Super Coffee Mixers made life miserable for the Painters all game long and there was no denying Marc Pingris certainly set the tone defensively for San Mig Super Coffee.
The 6-foot-5 forward anchored the team’s defensive and sustained activity in the lane as he accounted for a double-double of 11 points and 12 rebounds plus four assists and a pair of blocks.
Honorable Mentions: Also shining for the Mixers were starters PJ Simon, Joe Devance and James Yap, who took turns in attacking the paint at will behind their crisp ball movement from the low block.
Game Turning Point: From a 4-all count, the Mixers suddenly pulled away by scoring 12 straight points anchored on their relentless defense that clearly threw the Painters off-balance.
From there, San Mig Super Coffee never let up, leading by as many as 18 points (71-53) while allowing Rain or Shine to come closest at seven.
He Said It:
San Mig Super Coffee coach Tim Cone: “Our guys were surprisingly ready. They kind of surprised me. I thought they were a little worn after Game One. But we came out strong.”
SAN MIG SUPER COFFEE (80) - Simon 15, Devance 13, Yap 13, Pingris 11,
Sangalang 10, Mallari 8, Barroca 4, Reavis 4, Melton 2, Gaco 0.
RAIN OR SHINE (70) - Chan 18, Cruz 8, Norwood 8, Belga 7, Lee 7, Almazan
5, Teng 5, Quinahan 3, Nuyles 3, Tang 2, Ibanes 2, Rodriguez 2, Arana
0, Tiu 0.
