Mixers survive battle of nerves, enter semis

MANILA, Philippines - San Mig Coffee joined the march of the top seeds to the PBA Governors Cup semifinal round as the Mixers beat out the Alaska Milk Aces, 83-73, in a hard-fought knockout match at the Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City last night.

Marqus Blakely withstood an extremely physical battle at the paint, and the second-ranked Mixers survived the mere two-point showing of James Yap and the early ouster of Allein Maliksi on a knee injury, on their way to the best-of-five semifinals versus the third-seeded Meralco Bolts.

The Mixers, runners-up in this tourney last year, and the Bolts, in pursuit of a first finals in three years of participation in the pro league, start their semis showdown at 6:45 p.m. tomorrow at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Top-ranked Petron Blaze and No. 4 Rain or Shine, the Governors Cup rulers in 2011 and 2012 respectively, face off in the other semis beginning Monday also at the Big Dome.

Blakely thrived in this physical battle, coming through with 30 points, 13 rebounds, five blocks and three assists to lead the Mixers to a fifth straight semis appearance.

“We treated the game like a championship. It’s not easy. It’s very physical out there but we’re able to make a run and came out with the win,” said Blakely, a leading contender for the Best Import award.

“They beat us in a high-scoring game the last time. We gave over a hundred and that’s not our game. We knew if we can limit their production, we could win it. We did,” Blakely also said.

Blakely and his teammates took to heart their 105-112 loss Wednesday, coming out strong and going on to quash the Aces’ hopes for a repeat of their Commissioner’s Cup title run.

“That was a big load off our shoulders,” said coach Tim Cone in eventually hurdling his former team.

“We went back to basics, focusing on defense. And we made key stops down the stretch,” Cone also said.

True enough, the Mixers got big stoppages on critical situations, holding the Aces down to three points in the last two minutes of the game.

The Aces were still very much in the game when Cyrus Baguio, Jayvee Casio and Dondon Hontiveros committed an error each.

After the lapses of Baguio and Casio, Mark Barroca scored on a running jumper then Alex Maliksi had a trip to the line, making one charity, as San Mig Coffee got a 77-70 lead with time down to 41.1 seconds.

With firepower provided by Maliksi and Joe Devance early on, San Mig Coffee gained an early 12-point buffer before taking the half at 39-35.

Casio and RJ Jazul hit from afar while Wendell McKines struck hard at the paint as the Aces picked up their game in the second quarter and made it a close duel before the halftime break.

The Mixers threatened to pull away early on a seven-to-nothing run making it 24-12 at the start of the second period.

The Aces, however, unleashed a 17-7 counterattack, capped by a three-pointer by Jazul, that brought Alaska to within two at 29-31.