PBA: San Mig Coffee survives Meralco for solo second

The San Mig Coffee Mixers survived a determined Meralco Bolts squad, 88-87, to claim solo second in the 2013 PBA Governor's Cup, on Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

PJ Simon was named the Best Player of the Game, sizzling for 20 points on a 9-of-16 shooting clip with two boards

"This Meralco team is a very good team," said San Mig Coffee head coach Tim Cone. "They're playing extremely well. Hodge, Hugnatan, Wilson... they're a complete team. We're lucky to be able to get through them."

The win gave last season's finalists as 6-3 record, behind sister team Petron Blaze (8-1). Meralco on the other hand fell into a tie for third at 5-4 with the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, the defending champions.

A Simon pull-up with 2:17 left in the fourth extended the Mixers' lead to 84-79, but Mario West made two from the line soon after to cut his side's deficit down to three. Sticky defense from Meralco then led to Mark Barroca failing to put up an attempt as the shotclock expired, but the Bolts also came up empty on their next possession.

Barroca made amends, canning a floater over Cliff Hodge with 68 ticks to go, to put San Mig up by five anew, forcing Meralco head coach Ryan Gregorio to call for time. After a couple of point-blank misses, the Bolts found Sunday Salvacion for a three, while Rafi Reavis failed to handle a Simon dish at the baseline.

On their next possession, West tried to feed Salvacion in the corner, but his attempt failed to find the bottom of the net. Barroca then raced to the other side after a jumpball, pushing the lead to four with 10 seconds left. Mike Cortez hit a quick three at the other end to make it a one-point game, then West was able to steal the ball off the inbounds. Unfortunately, his attempt from deep was partially blocked by Marqus Blakely, giving San Mig Coffee the victory, 88-87.

The import Blakely had 24 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks for SMC, as the only other player with Simon to score in double-figures. The starting backcourt of James Yap and Alex Mallari each registered eight markers on a combined 6-of-20 shooting clip from the field, along with three assists.

Early conversions from Marqus Blakely propelled San Mig to a 13-7 start. Mario West tried to keep Meralco in the game, as long bombs from John Wilson and Sunday Salvacion inched the Bolts closer later in the first, 26-20. PJ Simon ended the quarter strong for San Mig, establishing a 34-24 spread after one.

In the second, Meralco started to stage their comeback from the free throw line, 38-35, before West and Blakely engaged each other in a tug-of-war for the lead. A Blakely split with four minutes left kept SMC ahead, before West barreled his way in the paint to tie the game at 41-all. An and-one from James Yap and another Blakely conversion canceled out buckets from Cliff Hodge.

The Mixers still ended up with the lead after two, as a drive and dish from Blakely to Rafi Reavis had San Mig up 50-47 after two.

Blakely led San Mig with 13 markers at the half, while Meralco had West and Hodge combining for 28. John Wilson added 10.


The Bolts' top three scorers continued to pour it on early in the third, as a Hodge tip-in put Meralco ahead, 54-50. West milked the line for more points, canceling out three Allein Maliksi free throws, 60-55. An active Hodge bumped Meralco's lead to nine, 64-55, before Blakely and Simon kept SMC in the hunt, 66-61.

Mark Cardona and Jay-R Reyes kept the Mixers at bay with their own makes, as the Bolts held on to a 70-64 edge after three.

Free throws from Yap and Reavis, plus a follow-up from Blakely, had SMC threatening to re-take the lead, 70-69. Baskets from West negated makes from Yap and Simon, but a Blakely drive finally gave SMC the go-ahead basket, 75-74. With the Bolts struggling to take care of the ball, Simon buried a trey to create some space, 80-76. Another Blakely layup stretched the lead even further, but free throws from Hodge and West made it a three-point affair, 82-79.

Mario West led all scorers with 31 points. Rookie Cliff Hodge had 19 points, six rebounds, two steals and a block, while John Wilson fired in 13 markers on an efficient 5-of-9 clip. Chris Ross missed all four of his shot attempts but had seven boards and six dimes in 21 minutes.

The Bolts were better from beyond the arc, 38.9 percent versus 21.1 percent, and got more looks at the line, 37 against 24, but San Mig Coffee was just better in the final canto. - AMD, GMA News