PBA: San Mig Coffee rallies as James Yap bombs give Mixers first blood in Finals

(Updated 10:40pm) Big Game James has done it again.

James Yap connected on a pair of long jumpers to overturn a 17-point deficit, as the San Mig Coffee Mixers moved a step closer to a grand slam, beating the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters 104-101, Tuesday at the MOA Arena, in game one of the 2014 PBA Governors’ Cup Finals.

The Mixers and the Elasto Painters previously tangled in the Finals of the Philippine Cup, which San Mig Coffee won 4-2. This series though is just a best-of-five, instead of best-of-seven.

Yap had 14 points, six rebounds and two assists, but it was his five points in the final minute that gave his team the victory.

"The tough three and the tough leaning jumper, he made it look easy at a very crucial time," said San Mig Coffee head coach Tim Cone of Yap's clutch plays down the stretch.

The two teams attacked the rim at the start of the payoff period, as Justin Melton and Allein Maliksi challenged Jeff Chan and Chris Tiu with makes of their own, 82-77.

Maliksicontinued to carry San Mig Coffee, making shots while dishing off to Ian Sangalang to slice to lead to three, 84-81, with seven and a half minutes remaining. Arizona Reid kept RoS ahead with a pair of baskets, as Mark Barroca and Yap missed a free throw each for a one-point Elasto Painter lead.

At the 2:07 mark, SMC finally made some headway as Yap rung in a banker, 94-all, before Reid connected on two more charities. Marc Pingris responded with his own turnaround make, but he yielded a fadeaway to Reid at the other end.

With 57.8 remaining, SMC found Yap for a triple and a one-point lead, 99-98. After a Lee miss from deep, Yap canned another jumper, pushing his team ahead by three with 16.6 to go.

With a chance still to tie the game, Norwood rifled a pass to Lee for the inbounds, but San Mig Coffee was quick to scramble. Lee sent it back to Norwood, whose three-point attempt sailed long, as Blakely secured the rebound. Belga fouled Blakely, and SMC's import responded with two free throws with 8.1 seconds remaining.

After a timeout, RoS got lucky as Reid was fouled from beyond the arc. The import made all three, 103-101, as Tim Cone called for a break at the other end to secure a a proper inbound. The Elasto Painters played the fouling game with 3.6 remaining, and it paid off as  PJ Simon only managed to split from the line. Paul Lee pump-faked for contact off Pingris to fish for a foul, but the referees did not make the same call as the last play. Blakely then collected the ball as the final buzzer sounded.

"I don't know whether that was a foul or not; I was far away," said Cone.

He also added, “The second group, that group really gave us a lift," referring to Mark Barroca, Allein Maliksi, and Justin Melton, along with bigs Ian Sangalang and Rafi Reavis. "Maliksi's energy gave us a spark."  

PJ Simon led San Mig in scoring with 18 points, while Marc Pingris matched Yap's 14. Marqus Blakely pitched in 13 while bothered by early foul trouble, and Mark Barroca had 11. Allein Maliksi and Joe Devance managed 10 apiece.

The Mixers relied on their inside game early, as they fed Marc Pingris in the post, 6-2. Rain or Shine responded from the perimeter, with Gabe Norwood and Jeff Chan ringing in  baskets to take a 10-6 lead. The Mixers continued to milk the paint through Pingris and Marqus Blakely, before SMC hit their first jumper through Simon to tie the game at 12-all.

San Mig Coffee seized the lead off a pair of baskets from Yap and Blakely in the paint, but back-to-back triples from Rain or Shine's Beau Belga and Paul Lee had RoS up 22-20. Five more from Lee and a pair of free throws created more separation for the Elasto Painters, though Mark Barroca found Joe Devance for a buzzer-beater, 29-24.

Lee didn't let up in the second, as he hit another long bomb to open the period. Barroca tried to keep San Mig close, but RoS strung buckets together, courtesy of Beau Belga and Jireh Ibañes to stay ahead, 38-31. Raymond Almazan was also active in the paint, canning free throws to bump the lead up to nine, 42-33, before Barroca and Simon responded with five straight points.

Rain or Shine was quick to counter with timely baskets, though, as Reid and Chan connected on triples to keep San Mig at bay, With 13.9 ticks to go, Rain or Shine found Jervy Cruz for an uncontested jumper at the baseline to give his team a 57-46 lead at the half.

At halftime, a determined Paul Lee led the Rain or Shine locals with 11 points and two assists, including a 3-of-5 clip from deep. Arizona Reid had 14 while Jeff Chan accounted for 10.

For San Mig Coffee, only PJ Simon was in double figures with 13.

The Elasto Painters made a killing from deep, shooting 8-of-16 from three-point range. The Mixers, on the other hand, struggled from the same area, getting just one to go off seven attempts.

Out of the intermission, San Mig tried to chip into the lead from the shaded lane, as Simon connected on an up-and-under, while Pingris found success from around the rim.

Arizona Reid and Ryan Arana sustained Rain or Shine's quick recovery, though, as they connected in transition to keep a 12-point edge, 64-52. Another Reid trey at the 6:48 mark had San Mig head coach Tim Cone pressing the timeout button, as Rain or Shine's lead swelled to 15, 67-52. A late 11-2 run capped by a pair of free throws from Blakely sliced the lead to just eight, after San Mig Coffee found Joe Devance for a string of makes at the low block.

The Elasto Painters stopped the bleeding via charities from Almazan, as RoS entered the final two minutes of the third with a 10-point lead, 75-65. Blakely looked to trim his side’s deficit further, but Chan buried a three at the other end. Allein Maliksi earned four points in the final minute though, as the Mixers entered the final period done by just seven, 78-71.

"We have all the respect for this team," added Cone while speaking of the Elasto Painters. "Hopefully, we're smart enough to know that we can't come out flat in a game in this series."

Arizona Reid carried Rain or Shine with 35 big points, while Jeff Chan had 17. After an 11-point first half performance, Lee only scored one more in the second half. Beau Belga had 11 points too. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

SAN MIG COFFEE 104 - Simon 18, Pingris 14, Yap 14, Blakely 13, Barroca 11, Maliksi 10, Devance 10, Sangalang 7, Reavis 5, Melton 2, Mallari 0

RAIN OR SHINE 101 - Reid 35, Chan 17, Lee 12, Belga 11, Norwood 7, Almazan 6, Arana 5, Cruz 2, Tiu 2, Nuyles 2, Ibanes 2, Rodriguez 0

Quarter scoring: 24-29, 46-57, 71-78, 104-101