PBA: San Mig Coffee decimates Petron 112-93 in Yap’s return

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – For all the misfortunes the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers have endured throughout the conference, they finally had a night where everything was right.

The Mixers could do no wrong on Wednesday, January 15, as the dealt the Petron Blaze Boosters a demoralizing loss, 112-93, in the PLDT myDSL Philippine Cup at the SMART Araneta Coliseum. 

Coach Tim Cone’s wards opened the floodgates as soon as the opening buzzer sounded and raced to to a 25-12 first quarter demolition job over a hapless Petron who shot a terrible 3-of-12 (25%) field goals in that period. On the other hand, everything seemed to fall for the Mixers in that quarter as they went 12-of-20 for 60%.

That set the tone for them. San Mig Coffee did not let up after that as they looked like a team so inspired and in the perfect groove on defense and offense. 

“This was just our night,” Cone put it simply. “We had everything going. We were shooting the ball well, we were moving the ball well, they were missing the easy shots and even when the ball was going crazy it was down to our end. Just one of the nights where everything came together for us.”

From a norm of around 30% or 40% shooting, the Mixers’ accuracy was on point in this game as they improved their field goal percentage to 64.1% on 41-of-64 makes. That spelled the difference for them as Petron only finished with 26-of-65 for 40% shooting. 

Their good ball movement can easily be spotted in the 30-19 assists disparity favoring San Mig Coffee. 

The Mixers equaled their first quarter output of 25 points in the second quarter and built their biggest lead at 23 points in that canto as well on a PJ Simon and-one play at the 4:56 mark, 43-20.

There was no room for relaxation following the halftime break as San Mig Coffee continued to show pristine execution of plays, keeping one step ahead of Petron at all times. The Mixers upped their offensive production to 29 points in the third to enter the fourth brandishing a 79-62 advantage that Petron could never overhaul. 

It seemed that the Law of Averages is finally catching up since the Mixers have not lost a game yet in 2014 and are riding a 3-game win streak. 

Six Mixers finished in double digits including PJ Simon who led them with 20 points and 5 assists, as well as Marc Pingris who had a double-double 12 points and 15 rebounds. 

This game also marked James Yap’s return after suffering from back spasms. He finished with 19 points on 6-of-10 field goals. 

“There are nights like this and it just came at a really good time for us. It was a time that we really needed a night like this. We haven’t had a night like this for this whole conference so hopefully we can build from here,” Cone said. 

He also commended athletic rookie Justin Melton who scored his two points in the final play for San Mig Coffee where the 5-11 point guard flew high over the hoop as Alex Mallari fed him the ball for an alley-oop throwdown. 

“It was punctuated by our last play of the game. It was Justin (Melton) gettin’ up and showing everybody what he can do athletically. He’s a real athlete.”

With the win, the Mixers are a shoe in for the playoffs at solo fifth.

“When this team is focused and ready and healthy, it’s a team to reckon with,” Cone said. 

Scores:

San Mig Coffee (112): Simon 20, Barroca 19, Yap 19, Sangalang 13, Devance 12, Pingris 12, Mallari 7, Reavis 4, De Ocampo 2, Gaco 2, Melton 2, Cawaling 0.

Petron (93): Lassiter 20, Lutz 18, Santos 12, Fajardo 11, Cabagnot 9, Kramer 8, Tubid 4, Ross 4, Marata 3, Duncil 2, Deutchman 2, Taha 0, Lanete 0, Hubalde 0.

Quarters: 25-12, 50-35, 79-62, 112-93 – Rappler.com