San Mig Coffee clamps down on Meralco for semis berth

Marc Pingris vs Cliff Hodge. Nuki Sabio/PBA

MANILA, Philippines — Holding Meralco scoreless in last eight minutes, San Mig Coffee claimed the remaining semifinals spot at stake with a 90-82 win in game three Wednesday in the 2013 PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The Mixers went on a game-clinching 8-0 run as they broke away from 82-all, clamping down on the Bolts’ top guns Eric Dawson and Mark Cardona — both scoreless in the fourth.

“They missed shots down the stretch. We defended well, but they missed shots that were makeable,” said head coach Tim cone. “It came down to the last 6-8 possessions.”

When the Bolts took an 82-79 lead with 8:03 on the clock on a triple by Chris Ross, the Mixers pulled it back after Denzel Bowles’ and-one play barely a minute after.

Marc Pingris and Marc Barroca scored the next six points for the Mixers, reading the passing lane and pouncing on Meralco’s miscues.

After countless misses by Meralco, which actually went 0-of-11 in their scoreless stretch along with six turnovers, Joe Devance sealed the win with an undergoal stab with 21.4 left to play.

Denzel Bowles finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds for San Mig Coffee, resting a few minutes to get his busted forehead all stitched up.

“When Denzel got hurt it turned like a blessing in disguise for us ‘coz he got an unusual 6-7 minutes of rest,” said Cone.

Eric Dawson, meanwhile, ran out of gas in the end though he finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds, along with five assists and three steals.

Mark Cardona added 19 points while Ross had 13 markers — five in the fourth — along with nine rebounds and eight assists.