Mixers hold off Boosters to even PBA Finals at 1-1

By: Mark Giongco - 11 years ago

Marqus Blakely of San Mig Coffee (light) vs June Mar Fajardo, Ronald Tubid and Elijah Millsap of Petron (dark). PBA IMAGE by Nuki Sabio

MANILA, Philippines — Marqus Blakely was in his usual do-it-all mode as San Mig Coffee got back at Petron Blaze, 100-93, in Game 2 of their best-of-seven championship series in the PBA Governors’ Cup Sunday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Blakely scattered 23 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and four steals that also served as a validation of some sort after being named Best Import just moments before tipoff.

“It was good that we were able to come out and get ahead,” said San Mig Coffee head coach Tim Cone. “I thought we executed well. We spread the floor well and we didn’t let them take over the paint.”

The Mixers dropped the Finals opener, 84-100, last Friday and Cone believes the loss taught his team a lesson coming into Game 2.

“I think that’s the idea of last game. We didn’t play a great game and we knew that. We had a lot of room for improvement. I think we realized the level of desire we needed to have to beat this team,” Cone pointed out.

James Yap and PJ Simon atoned for their sub-par efforts in Game 1 with 17 and 16 points, respectively, while Joe Devance had 15 points and five rebounds apart from containing the Boosters center June Mar Fajardo at the defensive end.

The Mixers led, 95-85, with just 44.9 seconds left before the Boosters managed to pull to within three, 93-96, on a quick triple by Ronald Tubid with still nine seconds left.

Simon gave San Mig Coffee a five-point cushion, 98-93, before Alex Cabagnot misfired on a three as the Mixers held on to win.

“I think this loss is very disappointing for our part. The players played hard. The game plan was to attack but we just couldn’t get to the free throw line,” said Petron coach Gee Abanilla, whose team aims to grab a 2-1 edge in Game 3 set on Wednesday, 8 p.m., also at the Big Dome.

Elijah Millsap topscored with 31 points and had 10 rebounds but committed eight turnovers before fouling out with still 3:29 left.

Fajardo and Arwind Santos, who was named Best Player of the Conference, also fouled out late.

Cabagnot scored 22 points and Fajardo collected 16 points and 14 rebounds while Santos struggled with just four points and one rebound.

Originally posted at 07:38 pm | Sunday, October 13, 2013