Mallari proves critics wrong with stellar play in playoffs

The no. 3 overall pick in this season’s rookie draft has been on a two-game tear helping defending Commissioner’s Cup champion San Mig Coffee stay alive and force a rubber match against Meralco in their quarterfinals series.

Mallari, who transferred to the Mixers’ camp via trade at the start of the conference following a forgettable Philippine Cup with Petron, is proving that Tim Cone’s patience with him was right all along.

“Coach Tim has put a lot of confidence in me. Even the assistant coaches [Jeff Cariaso, Johnny Abarrientos, Richard del Rosario and Koy Banal] are encouraging me,” said Mallari, who shrugged off early season struggles to find his niche in the complex triangle system of San Mig Coffee.

The lanky 6-4 combo guard has exploded for a career-high 16 points highlighted by three-of-four shooting from the three-point region to help the Mixers tie the best-of-three series with a 100-92 win last night.

Mallari laced up his best game in the pros with seven boards, two assists, two steals and a block in 28 minutes off the bench.  This came after another big game – 12 points, six rebounds, two feeds and three swats – in Game One which went down the drain as Meralco escaped with an 88-85 victory last Friday.

But the 26-year old rookie, who was a disappointment until his emergence here in the playoffs, thinks that this is just the beginning of realizing his potential.

“It’s a confidence-booster but I’m not going to stop here. I’ll just keep better,” said Mallari during his live TV interview as the Best Player of the Game last night.

Long buried under the bigger shadows of this year’s first top two picks Junemar Fajardo and Calvin Abueva, Mallari is finally hitting his groove. His solid play also came at a time when the Mixers are looking for somebody to fill up the slack for their resident superstar James Yap, who is bothered with a bad back. (read related story: http://philstar.com:8080/sports/2013/04/22/933582/cone-hopes-healthier-james-game-3)

The Mixers will bank on Mallari on Wednesday once again as Yap continues to recover while starting playmaker Mark Barroca got six stitches on his left eyebrow following a nasty cut from Meralco import Eric Dawson’s wayward elbow.