MANILA, Philippines - San Mig Coffee fought Meralco in a great defensive battle almost throughout before finding a crucial opening for a key run at the finish, carving out an 83-73 win at the start of their PBA Governors Cup best-of-five semifinal showdown at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.
Joe Devance, Mark Barroca and Marc Pingris worked on the decisive attack that turned the tide on their favor in the most opportune time, and the Mixers went on to frustrate the Bolts in their first Final Four game ever.
“We just hung around and hung around until we got some offense going. We got some momentum in the third and it carried over to the fourth,†said San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone.
“It’s a great defensive battle. The series isn’t going to be pretty. It’s gonna be a series of attrition,†Cone added.
“As expected we had a hard time scoring tonight. But this is a series. Nobody wins a best-of-five series without winning three games,†said Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio.
Gregorio also said they have to help import Mario West get his points for them to have a chance at winning their first Final Four appearance.
The Mixers hardly showed weariness playing a third game in five nights and bucked the absence of Allein Maliksi in gaining the decisive head start in the series which resumes with Game Two at 7:15 p.m. tomorrow in the same venue.
Tonight, reigning champion Rain or Shine and playoff top seed Petron Blaze start their own best-of-five semis duel at 7:15 p.m. also at the Big Dome.
The Mixers held West to a PBA career-low of nine points and went to Devance, Barroca and Pingris for the big points at endgame in drawing first blood versus the Bolts.
The two teams were engaged in nip-and-tuck affair before Devance, Barroca and Pingris teamed up in a key nine-to-nothing run to give San Mig a 79-69 lead entering the last two minutes of play.
Devance top scored for San Mig with 17 points while Barroca and Pingris combined for 15 with seven in the payoff period.
Marqus Blakely stood his ground against West in a physical battle, coming through with 15 points and 10 rebounds as against the latter’s nine markers and 10 boards.
The Bolts took the half at 38-35 and got away with a run of their own in the third, giving them the game’s biggest lead at 50-40.
The Mixers, however, kept the Bolts from gaining more headway, and stormed ahead at 57-55 at the end of the third.
“We’re emotionally drained after the Alaska game (in the quarters). It’s very physical and we kind of lacked focus and energy at the start,†said Cone.