Big Game James comes up huge again as San Mig Coffee wins Game 3

MANILA, Philippines – They don’t call him Big Game James because it sounds nice.

Thanks to a tremendous, off-balance shot by James Yap, the San Mig Coffee Mixers erased a late four-point deficit to win Game 3 against the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters, 77-75, and take a 2-1 series lead in their PBA PLDT Home TVolution Commissioner’s Cup Finals on Tuesday evening, May 13, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Game 4 is on Thursday, May 15, at the Philsports Arena in Pasig City.

Yap totaled 13 points and six rebounds, while James Mays contributed 20 and 14 to go with PJ Simon’s 17 points and three rebounds.

Talk ‘N Text, on the other hand, got 21 markers from Jayson Castro, who was given the Best Player of the Conference plum prior to the game. Ranidel De Ocampo pitched in with 18 points, and KG Canaleta provided 12. Howell, though he only had 10 markers, grabbed 22 rebounds and dished five assists.

“It was a game for the ages, in my opinion. It’s two real proud teams that don’t quit,” expressed San Mig Coffee head coach Tim Cone after the game. “We have absolute, total respect for Talk ‘N Text,” he added.

The start of the second half was an exchange of jabs by each squad, as neither of them managed to connect on a haymaker to pull away. Nonetheless, Talk ‘N Text was able to get on top, 46-43, thanks to four straight points from Castro, who found ways to get into the teeth of SMC’s defense.

After Simon hit a 3-ball to increase his scoring output to 13 and tie the ball game, both clubs exchanged baskets again, unwilling to give their opponent a significant threshold.

A crafty side-step and lay-up by Yap put his club back on top by one, but Kelly Williams, who had five total points, answered on the other end to give TNT a 53-52 edge with 2:45 to go in the third.

After De Ocampo connected a long-range bomb to put the Texters up 56-52, the Tim Cone-coached squad unleashed an 8-0 spurt, mostly on open lay-ups near the rim. Though Joe Devance missed two free throws to end the third quarter, the Mixers still had a four-point cushion, 60-56.

“That 8-0 run really gave us a belief that maybe we can really win this one. But, a four-point lead, an eight-point lead doesn’t mean much in this series,” added Coach Cone.

The deciding 12 minutes started with TNT going on a run of their own, knotting the joust at 62-all while getting the Mixers in early penalty situation.

With 7:07 remaining, a humongous three-pointer by the best player of the conference awarded his squad with a three-point margin. But right away, Mays countered on the next possession to deadlock the contest once again.

The game went down to the wire, as Simon hit a tough pull-up to put SMC up two, only to have De Ocampo answer on the other end with a three to help Talk ‘N Text regain the lead, 72-71. After Mays misfired on a mid-range jumper on the succeeding play, Castro added to his squad’s breathing room by banking in a three of his own with 1:15 to go.

The Tropang Texters hit 10 total threes in Game 3, making 32.3% of their attempts.

However, the Mixers refused to go down, with Mays finishing a three-point play to get SMC within one, 75-74. After Castro missed a triple from the top of the key, the Mixers got the ball back, a shot away from taking control of the match.

That’s when Big Game James happened.

Falling sideways near the baseline, Yap launched an off-balance fade-away over the stretched arms of Williams and made it, putting the Mixers up 76-75. TNT couldn’t counter and turned the ball over, giving the handle back to Big Game James and company. 

After Devance, who finished with 10 markers and five boards, split his charities, the Texters had one more possession, with 4.8 seconds to go, to tie or win the game. However, Castro missed his on his last attempt, sending TNT to a 2-1 deficit.

“It was a tremendous game. One big shot after another big shot,” added Coach Cone. “At the end, our defense made a big stop.”

San Mig Coffee shot 48.5% from the floor, despite going just 3-of-10 from downtown. The Tropang Texters, which forced their opponents to 13 turnovers – they had just seven – had 16 turnover points and 16 second chance points.

A win on Thursday for the Mixers would give them their third straight conference title. If TNT prolongs the series, Game 5 will take place on Sunday, May 18, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Unlike previous games, one of the two finalists managed to race off to an early lead. In Game 3, it were the Mixers that did so, attaining an 11-2 advantage following a mid-range J by Simon to gain an upper hand.

The Tropang Texters were finally able to get some more points on the scoreboard thanks to a tandem of jumpers by De Ocampo. However, SMC did a great job early of forcing its adversaries to taking tough, contested jumpers, while keeping Castro scoreless in the first period.

The first quarter onslaught continued for San Mig Coffee, as Yap and Marc Pingris put seven quick markers on the scoreboard to make the count 23-9.

In the succeeding possessions, Howell, who was crowned Best Import of the Commissioner’s Cup prior to the game, was responsible for six TNT points to help cut the Mixers’ lead to 10, 25-15, after 12 minutes of action.

As the second quarter came alive, so did the Texters’ offense. A couple of easy deuces from Harvey Carey and Ryan Reyes got their team within six, 25-19, prompting Coach Cone to call time-out. However, SMC committed two straight turnovers following the 60-second break, which were followed by two straight jumpers from Castro, 25-24.

A three-pointer by Canaleta with 5:30 to go in the first half tied the match at 29, but a pair of bunnies at the rim from Mays and Pingris soon followed, putting the defending champions back up four.

Both clubs went on to exchange buckets for the rest of the second quarter, with Canaleta upping his point total to nine following a three-point play. But heading into halftime, his Tropang Texters were still down a field goal, 37-35.

Scores

San Mig Coffee (77): Mays 20, Simon 17, Yap 13, Devance 10, Pingris 7, Sangalang 6, Barroca 2, Mallari 2, De Ocampo 0, Reavis 0, Melton 0

Talk ‘N Text (75): Castro 21, De Ocampo 18, Canaleta 12, Howell 10, Williams 5, Carey 5, Reyes Ryan 4, Reyes Rob 0, Aban 0, Fonacier 0, Alapag 0

Quarter Scores: 25-15, 37-35, 60-56, 77-75