PBA: Devance delivers as San Mig Coffee downs Meralco in series opener

(Updated 9:13pm) The San Mig Coffee Mixers got a big shot in the arm from Joe Devance, as they drew first blood in the 2013 PBA Governors' Cup semifinals with an 83-73 win over the Meralco Bolts, Sunday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

The 6'7" Devance scored 17 points in the game, including a crucial triple late in the fourth quarter that helped seal the win. San Mig Coffee import Marqus Blakely only chipped in 15 points and 10 rebounds, but he made seven of his 12 free throw attempts to help his team get the victory.

“We just hung around until we were able to get something going,” said San Mig Coffee head coach Tim Cone after the game. “I don’t think we started the game with a lot of focus but I told the guys to just hang in there.”

The Mixers’ offense finally clicked in the second half as they scored 22 and 26 points in the third and fourth quarters, while limiting Meralco to below 20 markers in both periods. Devance poured in 10 fourth quarter points to give the Mixers some separation heading into the game’s final two minutes.

After John Wilson banked in a triple at the 4:41 mark of the fourth, the San Mig Coffee defense held the Bolts scoreless for almost four minutes.

“As expected we had a hard time scoring tonight but this is a series. Nobody wins a best-of-five-game series without winning three games,” said Meralco head coach Ryan Gregorio.

He rued his team’s unfamiliarity with this kind of situation as it is their first time to make it to the Final Four, adding, “At this point it’s excusable for us to play that way in Game 1 because we’re not used to it but there will be no excuses for Game 2. We’ll find a way to win.”

Without their prolific bench scorer Allein Maliksi who could be out for six to eight months due to an ACL injury, James Yap made it a point to establish his offense early. Yap scored five of the Mixers' first seven points to give his team an early 7-2 advantage.

Cliff Hodge however kept the Bolts on pace as he scored seven early points in the first.
Mario West finally made his presence felt at the 6:33 mark of the opening period to cut the San Mig Coffee lead down to two at 12-10. Hodge scored his ninth point of the game at the 5:12 mark to give Meralco their first lead of the game at 15-14.

The Mixers fell behind further though as Val Acuna stepped in for Maliksi as the three off the bench. The Bolts held a 22-18 lead after the first quarter.

“We’re emotionally drained from our last game against Alaska,” admitted Cone. “The injury of Allein really bogged us down a little bit. To lose him as we did was really a devastating blow but at least we got Leo Najorda’s and Val Acuna’s feet wet tonight. We’re not going to be able to play with that short rotation for a long time. It will be too tiring.”

The Bolts maintained their four-point lead midway through the second quarter. A West basket and a Mark Cardona conversion doubled that at 33-25. The Mixers refused to fall behind any further though as a Joe Devance triple was followed by a two-handed dunk from Marqus Blakely at the 3:30 mark, to get San Mig Coffee within three points. The Bolts were able to regain a six-point lead, but a late triple from Alex Mallari settled the score at 38-35 at the half.

The first half was a battle between the locals as the two sides' usually prolific imports were quiet. West only had six points for Meralco, while Blakely only had two for San Mig Coffee.

Cliff Hodge led all scorers at the half with 12 while Cardona had six. For the Mixers, Mallari led the way with eight points, while PJ Simon and Yap chipped in seven points each.

Jay-R Reyes played huge minutes off the bench for Meralco as he got nine first half rebounds. Reyes got extended minutes as Reynel Hugnatan found himself in foul trouble. The Bolts did not shoot well from the field, managing just a 32.6 percent clip, but they managed to hold the lead at the half as they out-rebounded the Mixers 34-21, 13 of which came from the offensive glass.


Yap quickly knotted the ball game with a triple in the third quarter, but John Wilson responded with his own trey to give Meralco a 41-38 lead. The Bolts then threatened to pull away as they built a double-digit lead at 50-40 at the 6:42 mark of the third.

The Mixers responded with an 11-2 run to cut the Meralco lead down to a single point at 52-51. The Mixers completed the turnaround as a Mark Barroca layup gave them a 56-55 lead with 31 seconds left in the quarter. Blakely then added a free throw for a 57-55 count in San Mig Coffee's favor heading into the final quarter.

The two teams fought a tight battle at the start of the fourth. Back-to-back baskets from Mike Cortez gave his Bolts a 61-60 lead, but Devance sank a triple at the 8:16 mark to give the Mixers a two-point lead.

Hodge and Devanced exchanged triples for a 70-66 count still in favor of the Mixers. Wilson then cut their deficit down to a single point as he banked in a triple as their shot clock expired.

The Mixers replied with baskets from Barroca and Pingris for a 74-69 lead with 3:45 left in the game. They stretched their lead to eight after a Devance basket and a Blakely free throw, as Meralco settled for long triples on offense.

Off a Meralco timeout, Marc Pingris stole an inbound pass and went in for a dunk to give the Mixers a double-digit lead at 79-69 with 2:05 left in the game.

“It was a great defensive battle,” Cone said in closing. “It wasn’t exactly a pretty game and I don’t think it will be a pretty series.” Game 2 of this semifinals series will be played on Tuesday still at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

Hodge led the Bolts with 19 points, while Cortez and Wilson added 12 and 10, respectively. But without West pouring in his usual points, the Bolts struggled to stay in the game late in the fourth quarter. West only scored nine points with 10 rebounds, He also turned the ball over six times in the contest.

Meralco’s import scored just three points after the halfway point of the game, blanking out in the final quarter to allow the Mixers to grab the lead but the Meralco head coach was quick to defend his import. “We shot 28 times from the three but we were not successful,” Gregorio said. “We need to make our shots from outside to loosen their defense a bit to give Mario the space to operate.”

In Maliksi’s absence, it was starting point guard Mallari who heated up from outside. Mallari made three of his four attempts from deep to give the Mixers an extra scorer.

“More than Blakely, our defense loosened up a bit when Mallari started making his shots,” rued Gregorio. “We were ready for James and we were ready for PJ but we weren’t ready for Joe and Alex. It speaks volumes of their depth because we can stop two or three guys but someone will always take their place.” - RAF/AMD, GMA News