PBA: Grand slam-seeking Mixers shackle Barako Bull

(Updated 10:15pm) After winning three straight conference titles, and with hopes of a grand slam in their minds, the San Mig Coffee Mixers shut down Barako Bull Energy Cola to open their 2014 PBA Governors' Cup campaign on Wednesday, 76-66, at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

The defending conference champs begin with an early 1-0 card, while Barako Bull evens their record at 1-1.

PJ Simon scored 17 points, while Marqus Blakely added 10 points, 24 rebounds and four assists. Five other Mixers scored at least six points.

"To be honest we certainly didn't look like a championship team out there. There's a little bit of rust from Marqus [Blakely] and Allein [Maliksi], a bit of disruption from them finding their way back in the triangle," said coach Tim Cone. "But we saved the game with our defense. We'll look sharper on offense in time."

Cone said that right now, they're looking to stay in the league's top four to earn a twice-to-beat advantage in the playoffs before figuring out how to approach their championship run.

He added that while the pressure to cop a grand slam this year will come, he remains confident that the Mixers will rise to the challenge "These guys have handled pressure really well in the past two or three tournaments. They seem to get better with more pressure as they play. That's kind of the unique ability of this team," he said.

The Barako Bull team was slow to close out on defense to start the game, while the Mixers dissected them en route to an early 17-8 lead. However, a late outburst from import Eric Wise, highlighted by a pair of and-one’s, helped trim the deficit by the end of the first, 25-21.

Both teams couldn't find the bottom of the net in the second quarter, going scoreless for four minutes before Wise scored on the block with under three minutes left. San Mig Coffee remained in the driver's seat at halftime though, 39-34.



The Energy trimmed the lead to just two, 45-43, on a wide-open Jeric Fortuna trey at around the halfway mark of the third. James Yap found his range and instigated an 11-2 rally, but the Mixers' transition defense broke down towards the end of the period. Barako Bull outscored them 7-2, capped by a Carlo Lastimosa and-one on the secondary break, and were behind 58-54 after three quarters.

The Mixers got separation in the fourth, 72-63, as PJ Simon pulled up from deep with four minutes remaining. Barako Bull were blanking on their free throws and had nothing in the tank offensively. Simon carried them to the finish line, sinking a one-hander to make it a double-digit game with two minutes left.

San Mig Coffee shot 30-of-74 (40.5 percent) from the field and held Barako Bull to a 27-of-83 (32.5 percent) shooting night.

Eric Wise tallied 25 points and 15 rebounds for Barako Bull, while JC Intal chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

SAN MIG COFFEE 76 - Simon 17, Blakely 10, Yap 9, Maliksi 8, Pingris 8, Devance 6, Sangalang 6, Melton 5, Barroca 3, Mallari 2, Reavis 2

BARAKO BULL 66 - Wise 25, Intal 11, Fortuna 7, Lastimosa 6, Najorda 4, Miller 4, Deutchman 3, Jensen 2, Isip 2, Thiele 1, Miranda 1, Wilson 0, Marcelo 0

Quarter scoring: 25-21, 39-34, 58-54, 76-66