PBA: PJ Simon leads San Mig Coffee past defending champs Talk 'N Text

(Updated 10:33pm) The San Mig Super Coffee Mixers clubbed the defending conference champions Talk N’ Text Tropang Texters, 90-83, in the PLDT MyDSL 2014 PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals, Tuesday, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
 
PJ Simon bannered his team with 20 points and seven rebounds on 7-of-14 field goal shooting, to put the Mixers a game away from the semifinals.

Simon nailed tough, contested looks throughout the game, which deflated the Texters' comeback trieson multiple occasions. "Minsan ako rin nagtataka e," he chuckled after the game when he was asked how he made those shots. "Sinabi lang sakin ni coach to stay aggressive."

[Series infographic: #4 Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters vs #5 San Mig Coffee Mixers]

The Mixers have won five straight, including seven of their last nine games, counting a 100-87 drubbing of the Texters to close the elimination round. Simon credited his team's recent strong play to their maturation process as the conference plays on. "Yung triangle namin, nakukuha na ng mga bago [the new players] kaya maganda ang takbo namin," he said.

A win on Friday by San Mig Coffee puts them through to the next round, though Talk 'N Text can force a deciding game three on Sunday with a win.

The first quarter was a low-scoring affair, though the Mixers' offense fared better. Yancy De Ocampo’s perimeter scoring provided seven points to lead by as much as six, though TNT settled for a 15-13 deficit after late midrange jumpers from Harvey Carey and Kelly Williams.
 
The Texters tied the game early in the second, 17-17, on a Carey put-back, but San Mig Coffee pulled away on a barrage of perimeter shots fed by an 8-2 spread in turnovers. The Mixers rattled off an 18-4 run, highlighted by triples from Mark Barroca and PJ Simon, to claim a 35-21 advantage.
 
Talk N’ Text regained their senses and closed out the half with statement plays: Ranidel De Ocampo fed Williams for an alley-oop slam, while Jimmy Alapag and KG Canaleta hit from the arc to trail 40-32 at halftime.


PJ Simon broke loose after the break and almost single-handedly pushed the lead to 15 points, 50-35. Danny Seigle kept TNT afloat by scoring 11 of their next 14 points, but their spotty perimeter defense allowed Barroca and Alex Mallari to torch them inside, 66-55.
 
With under a minute to play, Jayson Castro and Alapag nailed back-to-back threes to help trim the lead to six, but Justin Melton answered from deep with 14 seconds left to maintain a 69-60 Mixers lead after three quarters.
 
The Texters’ hot streak carried over into the fourth, as a De Ocampo trey and three Alapag charities trimmed the gap to five, 71-66. San Mig Coffee replied though with a 10-2 run, capped by James Yap’s and-one at 5:37, 81-68.
 
TNT finally put together a good defensive stretch and leaned on Castro on the other end, who scored their last eight points to cut the deficit to seven, 81-74, with two and a half minutes left.
 
However, the Mixers recovered in time as Marc Pingris cleaned up a Yap drive with under two minutes to play. Moments later, Barroca converted two charities after getting the whistle on the drive, 85-76, putting themselves out of reach of a Texters comeback.

Joe Devance added 12 points, three rebounds, two assists, a steal and a block in support of Simon. The backcourt of Mark Barroca and James Yap chimed in with 11 points each, though Yap was just 3-of-15 from the field. Marc Pingris amassed a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds, along with two rejections.

Jayson Castro led all scorers with 24 points, also coming on 50 percent field goal shooting. The hyper-efficient guard also made 9-of-10 charities, but had four turnovers to go with his two assists.

Danny Seigle had a double-double of 15 points and 10 boards, Jimmy Alapag buried three triples en route to 12 points, while Ranidel De Ocampo was a miserable 4-of-14, including 2-of-10 from long-range, en route to 11 points.

New addition KG Canaleta, acquired Monday in a trade with the Air21 Express, got the start, but managed just eight points.

Despite getting just five more offensive rebounds, 20-15, San Mig Coffee got a whopping 16-5 advantage in second-chance points. They also held their foes to a 35.9 percent shooting clip while converting 40.5 of their own attempts. - AMD, GMA News
 

The scores:

San Mig Coffee 90 - Simon 20, Devance 12, Barroca 11, Yap 11, Pingris 10, De Ocampo 9, Mallari 6, Sangalang 6, Melton 5, Reavis 0

Talk 'N Text 83 - Castro 24, Seigle 15, Alapag 12, De Ocampo 11, Canaleta 8, Fonacier 5, Williams 4, Carey 4, Aban 0, Peek 0, R. Reyes. 0, J. Reyes 0

Quarter scoring: 15-13, 40-32, 69-60, 90-83