PBA IMAGE by Nuki Sabio
MANILA, Philippines — San Mig Coffee moved closer to another finals berth with an 84-73 win over Air21 Saturday in the remaining race-to-three semifinals series of the 2014 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
The Mixers worked hard all night cleaning the glass, building a whopping 54-26 edge on rebounding which gave them the extra possessions they needed to frustrate the Express.
Import James Mayes had 32 of those total rebounds — most by any player in the last nine seasons, but he had plenty of help from the San Mig Coffee guards.
Up by only 61-59 with a minute left in the third, Mark Barroca knocked down a triple to end the quarter then opened the fourth with a putback of Justin Melton’s miss to swing the momentum.
Melton followed it up with a drive which opened a nine point lead for the mixers which they stretched to as wide as 13 on another bucket by the high-flying guard off an assist by PJ Simon with 4:47 to go.
“They’ve been playing really well together. They really change the game defensively with their quickness, hustle, and speed,” said head coach Tim Cone of the Barroca-Melton tandem.
Simon led the Mixers with 18 points, along with three rebounds, four assists and two steals while Barroca had 17 markers, seven boards and two dimes.
For the second time in the series, San Mig Coffee held Air21 to nor more than 75 points, a stark contrast to its 100-103 game 1 loss.
“It was a struggle. Coach franz really did a good job of changing defense and giving us different looks. But we worked our way through it. It’s testament to these guys, they work their ways through problems and not panic,” said Cone.
San Mig Coffee can wrap it up against the Air21 on Monday in game 4, with a chance to face Talk N’ Text in the finals.
The Express sorely missed the services of hardworking forward Sean Anthony, who was sidelined with a strained achilles heel.
Asi Taulava finished with 21 points and eight rebounds for Air21, pouring more than half of his output in the third quarter where his squad put on a toughest fight.
Import Wesley Witherspoon had 19 points on 3-of-9 shooting from downtown.