Tim Cone benches James Mays against Air21 after 'internal' issue

The San Mig Super Coffee Mixers were right in the thick of things against the Air21 Express in the fourth quarter of Game 4. They played catch-up for most of the game but an offensive spurt early in the payoff period gave them the chance to score a comeback win.

James Mays started the fourth quarter on the bench. It was not a surprising move as San Mig Super Coffee head coach Tim Cone does this sometimes to give his import the chance to rest heading into the game’s final minutes.

However, when Air21 went on a run to re-establish a 16-point lead, Cone still refused to bring Mays back into the game. The import ended up riding the pine for the entirety of the fourth quarter. He finished with 14 points, 21 rebounds, and three blocks in 32 minutes. He could do nothing else but watch as the Express shot their way into another do-or-die game.

“Nothing particular. He was tired,” explained Cone after the game.

“I’m not sure how much I want to say about it. It’s more internal than anything else and it’s in the family and we’ll keep it in the family,” Cone alluding to the possibility that there may have been a misunderstanding that caused the benching.

“He got good rest in the fourth quarter and he’ll be ready to play next game,” the coach closed to end the issue.

Cone admitted that they will have to make a lot of adjustments heading into Game 5 of the semifinals series.

“They played 48 minutes of zone [defense]. We knew they were going to play zone. We knew they were going to do it early but we didn’t know they were going to do it for 48 minutes. But it worked for them so they stuck with it,” Cone said.

The San Mig head coach also praised the success Air21 got because of their press defense.

“We fell behind early [because of their press] and that’s exactly what they wanted. It was effective and that’s Franz’ La Salle style,” he said. “It wasn’t like we didn’t expect it. We just didn’t expect the volume of how they’d do it.”

Cone and his Mixers will now prepare for another do-or-die game, something they have been very good at in the past conferences. From the 2013 PBA Governors’ Cup, the Mixers have survived five do-or-die games. They will have to extend this streak to six if they want to keep their shot at winning their third straight championship alive.

Air21 on the other hand won three do-or-die games just this conference as they upset the San Miguel Beermen twice in the quarterfinals before beating the Mixers in Game 4 of their semifinals series.