San Mig Coffee edges Talk ‘N Text for 2-1 lead

Tim Cone described this game as one for the ages.
The San Mig Coffee coach had that opinion, more so after his Mixers won it and brought them on the cusp of another PBA championship.
“It was a game for the ages, in my opinion,” Cone said after eking out a 77-75 Game 3 victory over Talk ‘N Text for a 2-1 lead on Tuesday night in their best-of-five series for the Commissioner’s Cup title at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
“Those were two really proud teams that really didn’t quit and kept on fighting,” Cone said of the game – low-scoring albeit played with very high quality – as the Mixers continued to play through fatigue to earn two championship points.
The first of those chances comes Thursday night at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig, the site of some of the PBA’s most glorious years. A rubber match, should it be necessary, is scheduled on Sunday back at the Big Dome in Cubao.
James Yap, the former two-time MVP whom Cone sat down together with Peter June Simon for the entire fourth quarter of a Game 2 loss, delivered the biggest shot of the night with 28 seconds left that put the Mixers on top for good, 76-75.
Under heavy pressure from the athletic and much taller Kelly Williams, Yap seemingly jumped sideways – on the way out of bounds – before nailing a jumper that capped the Mixers’ comeback from four points down in the final two minutes.
Jason Castro, named before tip-off as the Best Player of the Conference over teammate Ranidel de Ocampo, had given the Texters a 75-71 lead with 1:15 left with a triple off the glass that beat the 24-second shot clock.
But Castro would not score again.
In fact, he missed the last two triple attempts for Talk ‘N Text, with the last being the potential game-winning try that left no more time on the clock.
De Ocampo also had a bad pass to Castro which led to Talk ‘N Text’s seventh turnover as Joe Devance split his charities on the other end with just 4.8 seconds left for 77-75.
“Our defense made a big stop and that was really the key,” Cone said. “It was really one of the best games I’ve been involved in. It just came down to the last possession, as it should be, between these two proud teams.”
San Mig actually started out with seven unanswered points and even took a 23-9 lead near the end of the first quarter, before Castro came off the bench to restore order to the Talk ‘N Text offense and make this game the classic that Cone says.
But Talk ‘N Text coach Norman Black had a very different opinion, talking in a very gloomy tone when he entered the press room for his turn to talk to reporters.
“It was a hard-fought game and San Mig came out on top tonight,” Black said. “We just have to put this one behind us and get ready for the next game.”
Black obviously felt that his squad didn’t lose the game fair and square and went on to say: “I just hope that the game is governed well, to give us a fair chance of winning.
“I just think that contacts should be called evenly on both ends. If you call fouls on one team, the same should be called on the other end,” continued Black. “It’s for the fairness of the game.”
Mays led the Mixers with 20 points and 14 rebounds with Simon finishing with 17.
Castro still went on to pace the Texters with 21, even if he missed eight-of-11 triple tries. De Ocampo contributed 18.
Richard Howell, who won the Best Import award convincingly over Mays, had just 10 points. He did pull down 22 rebounds, but struggled offensively.