Elijah Millsap of Petron (light) vs Alex Mallari and James Yap (behind) of San MIg Coffee (dark).
MANILA, Philippines — Elijah Millsap led Petron Blaze with 31 points as the Boosters out-dueled San Mig Coffee Mixers, 89-83, in the 2013 PBA Governors’ Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
Millsap, who also had 16 rebounds, six assists and six steals, showed the way but Petron also drew solid efforts from its locals with every player fielded in by coach Gee Abanilla contributing in their own little ways.
“It was a real struggle for us, it was really close all the way but i have to give it to my players like Ronald Tubid playing good defense and Chris Lutz getting those rebounds and of course our import,” commended Abanilla, whose squad improved its league-best mark to 4-1.
Tubid made his presence felt in the fourth quarter highlighted by the game-sealing trey that extended the Boosters lead to 10, 89-79, with only 48.8 ticks left while Lutz grabbed two crucial offensive rebounds as the Mixers were desperate to come back into the game late.
“I think San Mig Cofffee is a very flexible team so matching up is really important to us. I think the key was limiting them to 36 points in the second half,” added Abanilla.
Both Tubid and Lutz scored 10 points apiece while June Mar Fajardo came alive in the second half to finish with eight points, 11 rebounds and three blocks.
“I think coming into this game our mindset is to just protect our spot in the rankings. We need to peak at the right time,” said Abanilla.
High-leaping import Marqus Blakely paced the Mixers, who have now lost three of their first four games, with 25 points but missed his last nine free throws after making his first three.
It was a game of spurts as each team appeared to be threatening to blow the other team out. San Mig Coffee zoomed to a 10-point lead in the third quarter before Petron closed the period on a 9-0 blast to take a 66-65 edge entering the final frame.
The Boosters sustained their momentum in the fourth period and took an 84-74 advantage on a tough jumper by Tubid but the Mixers quickly answered with a 5-0 run after a deep three by Alex Mallari and a two-handed dunk by Blakely, who also collected 14 rebounds, seven assists and five blocks.
Millsap though, scored on a runner to beat the shot clock followed by Tubid’s left wing three with under a minute remaining.