PBA: San Mig Coffee seizes 3-2 lead in Gov. Cup Finals over Petron

(Updated 7:34pm) The San Mig Coffee Mixers made it two wins in a row, besting the Petron Blaze Boosters 114-103, Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven PBA Governors' Cup Finals series.

The Mixers had previously won game four in a squeaker, 88-86, Friday, at the MOA Arena.

“The key tonight is we just hit shots. Mark Barroca hit shots and James Yap came in the last minutes to hit some big shots,” said San Mig Coffee head coach Tim Cone. “We’re not a big shot team that does that but tonight we were.”

Barroca played the best game of his young career as he scored 22 points, two rebounds, 10 assists, and two steals while shooting 7-of-9 from the field. The former Gilas Pilipinas point guard also played tremendous defense throughout the game against whoever was assigned to him.

“Mark’s defense on [Elijah] Millsap was almost out of this world, a guy who is 5’8 defending a 6’4 import,” said Cone. In the game, Barroca defended mostly defended Petron’s point guards but he spent some time matched-up versus Millsap. The talented Petron import still managed to score a game-high 37 points, but he didn’t shoot at a good clip finishing 10-of-24 from the field.

San Mig Coffee import Marqus Blakely did much better, as he scored 30 points on only 14 shots. He added 15 rebounds, seven assists, two steals, and a block. “Marqus played all 48 [minutes] tonight,” Cone said. “Sometimes he gets tired so I push him to his limit and when he gets there I push him even more.”

All of the nine players fielded in by Cone scored for the Mixers. After Blakely and Barroca, PJ Simon scored 17 points while James Yap added 14. Yancy De Ocampo was also a big factor in the game as he scored 10 points, while also getting three rebounds and dishing out five assists.

The Boosters raced to an 8-2 lead early in the first quarter thank to triples from Elijah Millsap and Marcio Lassiter. But the Mixers countered with their own 8-2 run to tie the ball game at 10-all after a one-hander from Marqus Blakely.

Petron erected a five-point lead off long shots from Chico Lanete and Millsap, but four San Mig Coffee free throws got them within one at 18-17. The Mixers then got the lead off a put-back slam from Blakely. The Best Import awardee added a tip-in as the quarter buzzer sounded for a 21-18 San Mig Coffee lead.

Ronald Tubid heated up early in the second quarter as he made two three's to give Petron a 27-24 lead. The Boosters raised their lead to five, 33-28, after a triple from the returning-from-injury Alex Cabagnot and a free throw from Millsap, off a technical foul on San Mig Coffee head coach Tim Cone.

A layup from Cabagnot at the 7:12 mark raised Petron’s lead to seven at 39-32, forcing a San Mig Coffee timeout. Cabagnot then dished off a pass to June Mar Fajardo for another basket. Yancy De Ocampo replied with a jumper from the Mixers, but Tubid nailed his third triple of the second quarter to give Petron their first taste of a double-digit lead at 44-34.

Fajardo stretched their lead to 12 but the Mixers unleashed a 7-0 run from Blakely and Mark Barroca to make it a five-point game at 46-41 with 4:03 left in the first half.

Barroca continued his hot shooting as a fastbreak layup from the San Mig Coffee point guard got his team within a basket at 49-47. The Mixers finally got the lead, 51-50, after an and-one play by Marc Pingris, but Lassiter took it right back with a triple. After Blakely and MVP Arwind Santos exchanged splits from the line, Barroca ended the second quarter with a one-hander to tie the ball game at 54-all.

Blakely led all scorers at the half with 19 points while adding 10 rebounds and four assists. Barroca backed him up with 12 points with 10 coming in the second period. Petron on the other hand was led by Tubid who had 12, all from three's in the second period, while Fajardo and Millsap added 11 points each.

The Boosters only shot 39.5 percent from the field compared to the Mixers’ 47.4 percent clip. The big difference that allowed Petron to get the lead were the ten triples they made in the first half, while San Mig Coffee missed their one and only attempt.

Petron had upped their pace to start the second half, as long shots from Lassiter and Millsap gave them a 62-57 lead. The Boosters had a golden chance to stretch their lead and take control of the game, but Arwind Santos was called for a flagrant foul after tripping Joe Devance, who then made both free throws.

Back-to-back triples from Mark Barroca put the Mixers ahead, 67-66. Their import, Marqus Blakely, then followed this up by completing an and-one play to give San Mig Coffee a four-point lead.

The Boosters got to within a point after a two-handed June Mar Fajardo dunk, but the Mixers replied with triples from Blakely and Barroca to build a 76-69 lead with 3:38 left in the third.

The Mixers maintained their seven-point lead to end the third quarter as it closed at 87-80 after a layup from PJ Simon.

“San Mig played really good basketball tonight. They really played good defense against us. Right now we are down but certainly we are not out. We’ll use the next two games to map out a better game plan,” said Petron head coach Gee Abanilla.

After committing a flagrant foul early in the third quarter, Petron’s rookie head coach kept reigning Most Valuable Player on the bench until the tail-end of the fourth quarter. “Some of the players were doing really well. It was a matter of match-ups because they were fielding in a three small line-up so I felt we needed someone quicker,” Abanilla said. “Hindi naman siya disappointment but we need him in this series. If he contributes more, it will be good for us.”

The Boosters quickly trimmed the San Mig Coffee lead down to two, 91-89, with still 9:29 left in the game thanks largely to the efforts of their import Elijah Millsap. SMC head coach Tim Cone responded by bringing Barroca back into the ball game. The former Gilas Pilipinas point guard issued an assist to Yancy De Ocampo for a short jumper and a four-point Mixers lead.

De Ocampo heated up with two more jumpers for a 97-92 count in their favor. The Mixers then built a double-digit buffer after a triple from Alex Mallari and a layup from Simon to lead 105-94 with 5:20 left in the game.

The Mixers upped their lead to 14 points but Millsap and Fajardo tag-teamed for an 8-0 run made it a six-point affair at 108-102 with still 3:17 left in the game.

James Yap was then brought back into the game and he responded by swishing a long three to beat their shot clock for a 111-102 lead. He followed that up with a one-hander, to erect an 11 point SMC lead, with only 2:04 left in the game. Petron couldn't pull off one last comeback though, ending this match.

“The pressure mounts as we get closer. It’s gets harder in harder,” Cone said after the game. “Our mindset going into the next game is that it’s going to be harder than this one,” he added as they prepare to close out the series on Wednesday.

June Mar Fajardo tallied 23 points and 16 rebounds in another strong performance. Tubid was unable to add to his 12-point halftime performance, while Chris Lutz scattered 10 markers.

MVP Arwind Santos finished with two points, four rebounds, an assist and a steal after just 18 minutes of play.

San Mig Coffee finished shooting 55.4 percent from the field, while Petron was held to a 42.3 percent clip. The Mixers also out-assisted their foes, 29-18, but the Boosters kept it relatively close with a 19-9 edge in second-chance points. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

San Mig Coffee 114 - Blakely 30, Barroca 22, Simon 17, Yap 14, De Ocampo 10, Pingris 9, Mallari 5, Devance 5, Acuna 2

Petron 103 - Millsap 37, Fajardo 23, Tubid 12, Lutz 10, Lassiter 9, Lanete 5, Cabagnot 5, Santos 2, Kramer 0, Hubalde 0

Quarter scoring: 21-18, 54-54, 87-80, 114-103