Photo by Nuki Sabio/PBA
Hailed as champions so many times before, this batch of San Mig Coffee Mixers can now be called by another name: Immortals.
In a deciding match that hung in the balance until the final buzzer, the Mixers gutted out a 92-89 victory over Rain or Shine for the PBA Governors’ Cup that completed just the fifth Triple Crown sweep in league history before a virtual sea of humanity at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
James Yap rose to the challenge like only champions can, canning the most important buckets in the wild endgame before the rest of the Mixers sat on pins and needles in the waning seconds watching the Elasto Painters muff several tries to send the game into overtime.
Though he missed two charities with 25 seconds to go, Yap finished with 29 points and will stand as the leader of this San Mig squad that followed in the footsteps of Crispa, which had two, San Miguel Beer and Alaska as the only teams ever to complete the Grand Slam.
Yap was later named the PBA Press Corps-Holcim Finals MVP, his fourth such citation.
Coach Tim Cone—who improved his all-time record to 18 titles—also became the first coach to pull out the feat twice, the first coming 18 years ago when he was still with Alaska.
Marqus Blakely fired 20 points, had 16 rebounds and missed a triple double by just two feeds with three more locals tossing in 10 or better in a well-rounded team effort that allowed the Mixers to pull through.
Arizona Reid scored 23 points, 19 of them in the second half despite playing with a hurting right ankle. He missed the potential game-tying triple at the buzzer that started the huge celebration in the stands by the pro-San Mig crowd.
Paul Lee finished with 21 points and went scoreless in the fourth. He, like Reid, had two misses from beyond the arc inside the final minute which could have sent the game into overtime.
Jeff Chan had the last Rain or Shine miss from three-point range, as the Painters muffed two golden chances handed to them by the Mixers, who missed four straight free throws counting two by Mark Barroca.
The scores:
SAN MIG COFFEE 92—Yap 29, Blakely 20, Devance 11, Pingris 10, Simon 10, Barroca 6, Maliksi 4, Sangalang 2, Mallari 0, Reavis 0, Melton 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 89—Reid 23, Lee 21, Almazan 11, Norwood 11, Belga 7, Chan 6, Arana 4, Uyloan 2, Cruz 2, Tiu 2, Ibanes 0, Rodriguez 0.
Quarters: 23-16, 43-38, 73-70, 92-89