San Mig Super Coffee snap out of skid against Air21

Aware of the daunting task ahead, the Mixers of San Mig Super Coffee made sure they have gotten their usual bearings back.

Banking on a decisive surge in the third canto, San Mig Super Coffee pulled away for a 97-84 victory over pesky Air21 Wednesday night to regain its winning form in the PBA Commissioners Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

Smarting from a pair of setbacks including a 75-81 defeat against streaking Talk ‘N Text last March 31, the Super Coffee Mixers found the Express a tough nut to crack in the early goings but dropped a telling 19-3 bomb anchored on their stingy defense in the third canto that turned a close contest into a cruise.

Import James Mays delivered his usual numbers of 23 points and 15 rebounds but it was their collective defense that made things easier during that blinding run, with the Mixers holding down the Express to just a lone field goal in the last six minutes of the third canto that allowed them to turn a 53-all count into a 16-point lead and a 77-62 cushion into the last 12 minutes.

With the win, San Mig Super Coffee stopped its alarming skid and improved to 4-2 overall, keeping itself in the hunt for a Top Two finish that entails a twice-to-beat edge in the quarterfinals.

The Express, who stunned Barangay Ginebra 97-95 last March 26, dropped into the company of the Gin Kings with identical 3-4 cards.

The 6-foot Simon, coming off the bench this time, finished with 20 points and, in the process, made it to the pro league’s 5,000-point club while Yap, Marc Pingris, Mark Barroca and Joe Devance had their ample share of support to help them prime up for two tough outings against San Miguel Beer on Saturday and Meralco on Monday.

Air21 import Wesley Witherspoon, who finished with a game-high 27 points, and Sean Anthony emerged as the two main forces that helped the Express hold their ground in the first half, razing repeated eight-point deficits to just a 44-45 cushion at the break.

The Express continued to keep in step and even forged a 53-all count off a Jonas Villanueva lay-up midway in the third but the Mixers, tightening up their defensive screws, suddenly went on a big roll and set the stage for a romp.

From there, the closest Air21 could get was at 68-81 off Witherspoon’s five straight points but Simon quickly restored order by countering with a personal 5-0 run, the last two off a Justin Melton feed that pushed their lead back to 18 points with seven minutes left to play.

While they shot a solid 37-of-83 (44.6 percent) from the field, the Mixers made life miserable for the Express, who missed 62 of their 92 attempts for a 32.6 clip.
 
The Main Man: Reenergized, PJ Simon was at his usual form anew as he led all locals with 20 points on an efficient 9-of-16 clip.  
 
Honorable Mentions: Aside from import James Mays, the Mixers also got the typical numbers from the likes of forwards Marc Pingris, Joe Devance and James Yap.
 
Game Turning Point: From a 53-all count, the Mixers locked down defensively and proved efficient offensively, thanks to a decisive 19-3 onslaught in the third canto.
 
They Said It:
San Mig Super Coffee coach Tim Cone: “We played with a lot more togetherness and connection in the third quarter. We connected a lot better than we have been over the last couple of games. I felt coming out of halftime, we had a better sense of urgency–something we lacked in the past games.”
 
San Mig Super Coffee guard PJ Simon: “Malaking tulong talaga ‘yung pahinga. Galing kasi kami sa back-to-back championships in the last two conferences.”
  

The scores:

SAN MIG SUPER COFFEE 97 - Mays 23, Simon 20, Pingris 12, Devance 11, Yap 9, Sangalang 8, Barroca 6, Cawaling 3, Melton 3, De Ocampo 2, Gaco 0, Mallari 0, Reavis 0.

AIR21 84 - Witherspoon 27, Anthony 19, Yeo 11, Cardona 10, Villanueva 5, Borboran 4, Taulava 4, Burtscher 2, Camson 2, Ramos 0.

Quarters: 18-20, 44-45, 62-77, 94-87.