Sharing is caring: San Mig Coffee Mixers on the brink of a Grand Slam finish
To pass the ball effectively among a collective group of individuals is perhaps one of the most challenging skills to learn and master in team sports such as basketball.
After all, having the ball means having a greater opportunity to score on a basket or a goal, whenever and however one may want it to be. Being the highest scorer commonly leads to a spot on a sports network or an article in the daily paper which in turn sets the stage for an individual’s popularity to rise astronomically.
But on the other hand, distributing the leather means creating better opportunities on the offensive end, which more often than not result in won games and numerous championship conquests along the way.
Choosing to play for team success instead of solitary glory, the San Mig Coffee Mixers five passed, swung and shared the rock around in a remarkable display of team chemistry as they eked out a 78-69 victory over Rain or Shine last Saturday evening.
In a squad brimming with superstar talent such as newly minted Mythical Team members PJ Simon, Mark Barroca, Marc Pingris plus former Best Import Marqus Blakely and ex-MVP James Yap, the Super Coffee Mixers could have opted for one of these names to carry the load for the club, but instead focused their combined energies on playing as one solid unit on both ends of the floor.
With their uncanny quickness, Barroca and backcourt mate Justin Melton have the ability to foray in the lane with ease for the bucket but still they looked for other SMC players such as Ian Sangalang for the inside incursion. Sangalang ended the game with 13 points to complement Blakely’s team-high 17 markers.
Pingris and Yap were also seen dishing and making passes to open teammates for easy baskets whether from the perimeter or in transition. Yap tallied 4 assists to lead the Super Coffee Mixers along with Melton while Pingris handed out 3.
Though the gap in the assists department was relatively close as SMC only narrowly edged out RoS to the tune of 20 to 17, what made the difference were the passes that led to free throws and secondary attempts from offensive rebounds made by the Super Coffee Mixers.
SMC also swung the ball with precise consistently from side to side towards finding the person with the best view of the basket.
For their part, Rain or Shine looked spent and tired. Gone were the physical play and boundless energy displayed by the Elasto Painters in the first two games. Reid was the lone shining spot and the team’s only double figure scorer as he battled and bruised his way to 31 points, mostly on one-on-one and isolation plays. Beau Belga came within a basket of breaking into double figures but a right ankle sprain subdued him for most of the third canto, finishing with 8 points after 24 minutes of action.
With the win, the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers move one step closer to the 2014 Governors’ Cup crown in completing a rare Grand Slam, last achieved by their mentor Tim Cone back in 1996 with Alaska. For Yeng Guiao and the rest of Rain or Shine, it’s now or never come Monday’s Game 4 if they would still like to make a run at the franchise’s second PBA title since 2012.
Photos c/o Paul Ryan Tan
The post Sharing is caring: San Mig Coffee Mixers on the brink of a Grand Slam finish appeared first on SLAMonline Philippines.
