The San Mig Coffee Mixers secured a PBA Governors' Cup semifinals slot against the Meralco Bolts after an 83-73 victory over the Alaska Aces on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Two costly turnovers from the backcourt tandem of Jvee Casio and Cyrus Baguio in the final two minutes prevented the Aces from mounting a comeback the same way they did last Wednesday to force the do-or-die game.
"We went back to basics, focused on our defense, [and] scored the way we want. That was key," said San Mig head coach Tim Cone.
Marqus Blakely was the Best Player of the Game with 30 points, 15 boards and five blocks.
Two costly turnovers from the backcourt tandem of Jvee Casio and Cyrus Baguio in the final two minutes prevented the Aces from mounting a comeback the same way they did last Wednesday to force the do-or-die game.
"We went back to basics, focused on our defense, [and] scored the way we want. That was key," said San Mig head coach Tim Cone.
Marqus Blakely was the Best Player of the Game with 30 points, 15 boards and five blocks.
With less than three minutes remaining in the fourth, PJ Simon sank a jumper to give San Mig a comfortable lead, 74-66. But after a Wendell McKines split from the line, Cyrus Baguio rung in a trey to slash the lead to four, 74-70, with two minutes remaining. Misses from Mark Barroca and Marc Pingris gave Alaska another chance to trim the lead, but Baguio and Jvee Casio lost the ball off the inbounds.
An offensive rebound from Joe Devance after a Barroca miss gave San Mig another fresh possession, before the latter freed himself for a stop-and-pop and a six-point lead with 46.9 seconds to go.
An offensive rebound from Joe Devance after a Barroca miss gave San Mig another fresh possession, before the latter freed himself for a stop-and-pop and a six-point lead with 46.9 seconds to go.
After a timeout, the Aces committed another turnover, as Baguio could not handle a Casio pass. A split from Alex Mallari at the other end, led to a frantic play for Alaska, with Mallari ending up fouling a three-point-shooting Baguio. With 34.3 remaining, Baguio canned all three, as the Aces were forced to play the fouling game.
Two free throws from PJ Simon made it a six-point game anew, leading to Alaska head coach Luigi Trillo calling for time. The Aces had Dondon Hontiveros trying to fish for another foul from beyond the arc, but the defense of Marc Pingris led to two more Blakely free throws to seal the win.
San Mig sped off to 17 points in the first, while limiting Alaska to just nine. At the 1:30 mark, the Aces finally broke into double-digits, as forward Gabby Espinas made the first from the foul line, but missed the second. Luckily for Alaska, Wendell McKines was there for a put-back, 17-12.
Alaska force-fed McKines down low, but a well-timed block by Marqus Blakely gave the possession back to San Mig. Joe Devance then split from the line for a six-point lead at the end of the first, 18-12.
There was a stoppage of play at the 11:45 mark of the second period, as Allein Maliksi fell to the floor after a collision with Sonny Thoss. Maliksi's and Thoss' right knees collided on the drive, but it was the former UST player's left knee that sent him to the floor. After gathering himself for a split at the line, Maliksi then proceeded to limp to the locker room.
Buckets from Thoss and Mallari had San Mig up by 12, 26-14, before Tony Dela Cruz and McKines countered with four to cut their deficit to eight. A Mark Barroca dish to Blakely ended in a pretty slam down the lane, but Jvee Casio was there to bury a long three to beat the shot clock, 28-21.
McKines and Abueva were active down low, towing Alaska to within five with less than three minutes remaining, 31-26. An RJ Jazul trey inched the Aces closer, but baskets from Blakely kept Alaska at bay.
Four from the Alaska import cut the lead to two with 46 seconds remaining in the first half, before a pair of Blakely freethrows and a quick two by Joe Devance kept the Mixers ahead by four, 39-35, at the break.
Four from the Alaska import cut the lead to two with 46 seconds remaining in the first half, before a pair of Blakely freethrows and a quick two by Joe Devance kept the Mixers ahead by four, 39-35, at the break.
A triple by Baguio early in the third got the Aces within one, 43-42, but the Mixers leaned on a good showing from the stripe to bump the lead back to nine, 53-44.
Alaska sparked a counter-run as Baguio and Abueva reeled the Aces within two, 53-51, but Blakely remained steadfast for San Mig to keep the Mixers ahead, 57-51. At the 2:16 mark, Gabby Espinas was ejected from the game, after incurring a technical and a flagrant foul on Blakely on separate plays. Baguio converted anew, but short stabs from Marc Pingris and Blakely kept San Mig ahead, 61-53, after three.
Joe Devance added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Mixers, while Allein Maliksi scored 10 in six minutes before his injury. Mark Barroca and PJ Simon chimed in with seven points apiece, but star guard James Yap was held to two points on 1-of-6 shooting.
Alaska drew 24 points and 20 rebounds from their import Wendell McKines, while Cyrus Baguio dropped 20 markers. Tony Dela Cruz put together a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds, but young guns Jvee Casio and Calvin Abueva disappointed, teaming up for nine markers on a combined 3-of-23 clip from the field.
SMC earned a 16-4 edge in fast break points, while holding Alaska to just a 28.0 percentage from the field. Both sides though could have gotten more definitive victories had they just hit their charities. The Mixers were 24-of-41, while Alaska was 21-of-36. - AMD, GMA News
Alaska sparked a counter-run as Baguio and Abueva reeled the Aces within two, 53-51, but Blakely remained steadfast for San Mig to keep the Mixers ahead, 57-51. At the 2:16 mark, Gabby Espinas was ejected from the game, after incurring a technical and a flagrant foul on Blakely on separate plays. Baguio converted anew, but short stabs from Marc Pingris and Blakely kept San Mig ahead, 61-53, after three.
Joe Devance added 12 points and nine rebounds for the Mixers, while Allein Maliksi scored 10 in six minutes before his injury. Mark Barroca and PJ Simon chimed in with seven points apiece, but star guard James Yap was held to two points on 1-of-6 shooting.
Alaska drew 24 points and 20 rebounds from their import Wendell McKines, while Cyrus Baguio dropped 20 markers. Tony Dela Cruz put together a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds, but young guns Jvee Casio and Calvin Abueva disappointed, teaming up for nine markers on a combined 3-of-23 clip from the field.
SMC earned a 16-4 edge in fast break points, while holding Alaska to just a 28.0 percentage from the field. Both sides though could have gotten more definitive victories had they just hit their charities. The Mixers were 24-of-41, while Alaska was 21-of-36. - AMD, GMA News
The scores:
San Mig Coffee 83 - Blakely 30, Devance 12, Maliksi 10, Barroca 7, Simon 7, Mallari 6, Pingris 4, Reavis 3, Ponferrada 2, Yap 2
Alaska 73 - McKines 24, Baguio 20, Dela Cruz 10, Thoss 6, Casio 5, Abueva 4, Jazul 3, Espinas 1, Hontiveros 0
Quarter scoring: 18-12, 39-35, 61-53, 83-73
http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/328484/sports/basketball/pba-san-mig-coffee-surges-on-to-semis-with-win-over-alaska
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