Mark Cardona of Air21 (dark) vs Justin Melton and James Mays of San Mig Coffee (light). INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/NUKI SABIO
MANILA, Philippines — Air21 and San Mig Coffee break their 1-1 standoff in the Final Four series of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum with the Mixers riding the momentum of a swashbuckling Game 2 victory.
Game time is 5 p.m. with San Mig again installed as the favorite after leading by as many as 20 points on Thursday and knotting the series with an easy 82-75 triumph that also snapped the Express’ three-game streak in these playoffs.
Air21 won its first three playoff games— the first two against mighty San Miguel Beer—before taking the semifinal series opener, 103-100.
But on Thursday night, coach Tim Cone was able to make his Mixers play with the same defensive mentality that marked their victory in the last two conferences, starving Air21 import Wesley Witherspoon to just eight points and making the Express bleed for their productions.
“We came back to our character,” Cone said Thursday night. “We are a defensive team and we came back to the tempo we want to be in.”
First in franchise history But Cone knows that it will still be an uphill fight from hereon, most especially after the Express—playing in a Final Four series for the first time in franchise history—have shown they know what it takes to win at this level.
“Air21, they’re a confident team [already],” Cone said. They’re not going to fall back.”
The Express will try to make do with one of the shallowest rotations in the league in a schedule where they play every other day.
Asi Taulava, his 41-year-old legs still holding, will again be looked upon by the Express for leadership.
And Witherspoon has to find a way to extricate himself from the clutches of the San Mig defense in order to help the Express bounce back and regain control of this series they have been tipped to lose horribly.
James Mays will again be the focal point of the San Mig game on both ends, and the hardworking import should avoid foul trouble once again to be effective in the endgame.
James Yap, Peter June Simon, Mark Barroca and Marc Pingris are the prime San Mig locals and Cone has at his disposal a wide arsenal of reserves that include Joe Devance, Alex Mallari and rookies Justin Melton and Ian Sangalang.
The winner of this series will join Talk ‘N Text in the finals after the Tropang Texters completed a sweep of the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters with a 99-91 win in Game 3 Friday night.