PBA: Sans Pingris, San Mig Coffee Mixers best Meralco Bolts

The San Mig Super Coffee Mixers knew Marc Pingris would play less minutes in the third and final conference. They didn't expect he'd get tossed in a game after only logging 12 minutes before halftime.

The Mixers chugged along though and relied on PJ Simon in the fourth to put away the Meralco Bolts, 108-90, keeping them winless in the 2014 PBA Governors' Cup, Tuesday, at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

San Mig Coffee (2-1) bounced back from a loss against the San Miguel Beermen on Sunday, while Meralco (0-4) has already equaled their loss total in the previous conference, where they made the quarterfinals with a 5-4 record. It was also the first time this season SMC defeated Meralco.

Pingris was ejected with 3:15 left in the half for grabbing and throwing a punch at James Sena after the latter set a hard screen. Pingris came away from the contact holding his left rib which he bruised in the last conference, and was handed a Flagrant Two.

PJ Simon scored 22 points and five rebounds on an extremely efficient 10-of-13 clip from the floor in 19 minutes. Marqus Blakely added 16 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks. Mark Barroca had 15 points, four rebounds and seven assists. James Yap totaled 13 points, while Pingris finished with 10 points.

Coach Tim Cone said his team was frustrated in the first half, but credited their "bounce back-ability" to get this win after falling to San Miguel on Sunday.

"We didn't play with a lot of rhythm. The first sign of fatigue and tiredness is being pikon," said Cone. "But when we just focused strictly on the basketball game and don't get caught up in our little battles, we're a very good team."

Cone elaborated and said that his players should know better than to let incidents like that affect them. "We have very competitive guys who find their own little battles. It distracts them and takes them out of the team concept. It hurts us overall," he explained. "We should have a lot of maturity at this point. That kind of stuff should just roll off us, and we should just think of what it takes to win."

The first quarter was a tit-for-tat affair, where returning Mario West, who replaced former NBA payer Terrence Williams, carried the Bolts against Marc Pingris and James Yap's one-two punch. The two Mixers combined for 19 points in the first, including a Yap triple that kick-started a 13-5 blast to end the first, 30-23.

Cliff Hodge, who hit a triple in the first, nailed a couple more to get the Bolts within three, 34-31. However, San Mig Coffee held them off with great interior defense, while getting deep positioning in the paint to take a 48-37 lead right before Pingris' ejection.

No infraction was called on Sena during the incident, and he walked to the line and made two charities. A resurgent West helped the Bolts trim their deficit to 52-46 at the intermission.


In the third, San Mig Coffee quickly stretched the lead to 60-48 before Meralco found their outside touch. Anjo Caram and Sunday Salvacion combined for three triples, supporting West during a 17-7 run, to trail 67-65. But veteran finishes from PJ Simon and Mark Barroca down the stretch helped the Mixers retain a 76-69 advantage entering the fourth quarter.

Eager to put the game away, Simon orchestrated an 18-6 run, attacking the basket and setting up his teammates to make it a 94-75 game with five minutes and change left. Meralco, who had been relying on the fatigued West to make plays, couldn't put together another run.

The Mixers scored at a lethal clip from the floor, converting 45-of-81 (55.6 percent) on field goals while limiting Meralco to 31-of-81 (38.3 percent). San Mig Coffee led 23-12 on turnover points.

Mario West nearly had a triple-double after putting up 31 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists. Cliff Hodge was the only local in double-digit scoring for the Bolts with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Gary David was held to six points on 2-of-7 shooting, while Jared Dillinger went scoreless after missing six field goal attempts. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

SAN MIG COFFEE 108 - Simon 22, Blakely 16, Barroca 15, Yap 13, Pingris 10, Maliksi 9, Sangalang 8, Reavis 6, Gaco 4, Mallari 3, Devance 2, Holstein 0, Melton 0

MERALCO 90 - West 31, Hodge 21, Caram 8, Wilson 7, Sena 6, David 6, Hugnatan 6, Salvacion 3, Bringas 2, Ildefonso 0, Timberlake 0, Dillinger 0

Quarter scoring: 30-23, 52-46, 76-69, 108-90