Defense back in Mixers as they even semis series vs Express

Mark Barroca FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—San Mig Coffee nipped Air21’s comeback in the fourth period for a series-tying 82-75 victory Thursday night in the 2014 PLDT Commissioner’s Cup semifinals.

A strong end to the first half gave the double-digit cushion the Mixers needed to weather an expected fightback from the gritty Express.

Up by 20 points with 10 minutes to play, San Mig Coffee saw its lead dwindle down to as low as seven points, 70-77, within just three minutes after Air21’s 13-0 run.

But the Mixers didn’t allow the situation to escalate further, clamping down on defense in the final half of the payoff period and allowing Express just four more points.

“I just felt we got back to our identity tonight. First and foremost were a defensive team. We let them score 100 points last time, that wasn’t our character.  We need to play better defense,” said head coach Tim Cone, who notched his 100th win as a San Mig mentor.

“We also got back to the tempo which we like to play at and put effort on the defensive side.”

San Mig Coffee lost in game one of the best-of-five series, 100-103, but bounced back by holding Air21 to a conference low in total points.

Their second quarter performance, marked by a 19-3 run sparked by Mark Barroca, swung the momentum to the Mixers’ favor as they held the Express to just 14 points.

“I thought our second group came out in adjustment and Mark set the tone on defense.  They created some offense off their defense. That was a big lift,” Cone said.

James Mays, meanwhile, led the starting unit with a monster statline of 25 points, 23 rebounds, and five assists, while other starters PJ Simon and Joe Devance added 13 and 10 markers, respectively.

High-flying guard Justin Melton scored 12 points while Barroca added six points.

Air21, which never got closer than seven points, got 21 points and 18 rebounds from 40-year-old center Asi Taulava but drew little from energy guy Sean Anthony, who was seen hobbling all night.

“Looked like Sean was hobbling tonight. He wasn’t a bit of a factor [for Air21] tonight. That might’ve helped us,” Cone said as Anthony only finished with eight points in 24 minutes.

Game three is on Saturday, also at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.