PBA: Resilient Air21 overwhelms San Mig Coffee, forces win-or-go-home for last finals berth

 
(Updated 10:25pm) The Air21 Express made it three-for-three in do-or-die games this conference with a 94-91 victory over the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers, forcing a fifth game in their best-of-five 2014 PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals series, Monday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

The final score did not tell the story of how the Express completely dominated the game.

The Express nailed a franchise-record 15 triples in the ball game to build a lead big enough to sustain a late rally from the Mixers. Led by import Wesley Witherspoon, who scored 32 points, anchored on eight three-pointers, Air21 quelled multiple comeback attempts from the Mixers by lighting it up from outside.

“Akala niyo hindi na ako magpupunta dito ano?” japed Air21 Express head coach Franz Pumaren as he entered the press room after the game four victory.

Aside from his scoring, Witherspoon added eight rebounds, three assists, four steals, and two blocks in an all-around effort that won him the Best Player of the Game honors.

“During the last two games, our system completely vanished,” Pumaren said. “I was hard of our import in the past couple of games and he responded. He showed his true character.”

The opening minutes of the game saw a seesaw battle between the two squads. Air21 was the first to build a good sized lead after a triple from Wesley Witherspoon and a layup from Joseph Yeo gave them a 13-7 lead at the 5:42 mark of the first.

The Express built a double-digit lead at 18-7, but a triple from PJ Simon brought it back down to eight points. The Mixers had a tough time defending the Express, especially from the outside. Triples from Witherspoon and Aldrech Ramos re-established a double-digit lead for Air21 at 24-14.

The Express extended their lead to 12 points at the end of the first quarter.

“I must commend my players. They didn’t want to end the conference today. It’s nice playing against a multi-titled coach in Tim Cone,” Pumaren added. “I had to dig deep in my knowledge to prepare for the game against San Mig.”

Pumaren got good games from his starters but the effort of Mark Borboran, Macmac Cardona, and Simon Atkins was the big difference. The three combined for 25 points, with the timing of some of those points was crucial in sustaining their lead.

With nothing going on in the shaded area for the Mixers, San Mig Super Coffee head coach Tim Cone tried out a three point guard lineup with Alex Mallari, Mark Barroca, and Justin Melton to start the seconds quarter. It paid off quickly as they scored five points in the first 75 seconds.

The San Mig Super Coffee rally did not last long as Witherspoon heated up from three anew to build a 33-19 lead for the Express.

The Mixers were able to get back into the game as James Yap put together eight quick points to cut Air21's lead down to five at 38-33 with two minutes left in the half. San Mig Coffee continued to score, but they could not stop Witherspoon from doing the same, as they allowed Air21 to take a 48-39 lead at the half.


The Express anchored their offense on their outside shooting. At the half, they had made nine of their 19 attempts from deep while the Mixers only made three of their attempts. Witherspoon led all scorers at the half with 21 points to lead Air21’s attack. James Yap and PJ Simon led the way for San Mig Coffee with 11 and 10 markers, respectively.

The Express shot 48.7 percent from the field in the first 24 minutes while the Mixers could only muster a 38.2 percent clip.

To counter Air21’s 2-3 zone, the Mixers used quick interior passes that led to a couple of fouls and an open dunk for James Mays. However they simply could not fully mount a run as Witherspoon continued to shoot well from deep to give the Express a 58-44 lead.

The Mixers slowly got back into the game as their defense tightened up. They cut Air21’s lead down to five points at 66-61 with two minutes left in the third period. However, like their earlier comeback attempts, the Mixers could not sustain their run as they allowed the Express to carry a double-digit lead, 71-61, heading into the final quarter.

The fourth quarter of Game 4 ended up being Mark Cardona time as he scored nine points in the first six minutes of the game to give Air21 an 82-69 lead. Witherspoon added another triple to extend Air21’s lead to 16 points.

Yap responded with a long two but Ramos sank his own jumper for an 87-71 count for the Express. The Mixers got their offense going in the closing minutes of the game but they dug themselves too deep a hole, allowing the Express to force a win-or-go-home game five on Wednesday.

“This is a temporary celebration in our part. Tomorrow we will prepare again,” said Pumaren who admitted he was wary with the Mixers’ big game experience.

“They’ve been here in this kind of situation. I hope in the span of so many hours, my players can recover. We’re going to be there. We’re going to play hard and we hope we can out-hustle this very talented San Mig team.” - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

Air21 94 - Witherspoon 32, Yeo 13, Taulava 12, Cardona 11, Borboran 8, Ramos 7, Atkins 6, Villanueva 3, Burtscher 2

San Mig Coffee 91 - Simon 26, Yap 22, Mays 14, Sangalang 9, Pingris 6, Barroca 6, Devance 4, Melton 4, Mallari 0, Reavis 0

Quarter scoring: 26-14, 48-39, 71-61, 94-91