San Mig crushes Barangay Ginebra 102-90

MANILA: With a surge of brilliance on both ends in the most crucial time of the fourth quarter, San Mig Coffee made Barangay Ginebra look every inch a pretender to its throne.
The Mixers executed flawlessly on offense and were unforgiving defensively when winning time came on Sunday night, ripping the Gin Kings apart in the final seven minutes for a 102-90 win that gave San Mig the solo lead in the PBA Governors’ Cup eliminations in front of more than 17,000 animated fans at the Araneta Coliseum.
Marqus Blakely fired 15 of his 34 points in the fourth, and the San Mig defense played without letup and harassed the Gin Kings no end, as a 16-0 bomb from 78-79 going into the final seven minutes spelled all the difference in the Mixers’ third straight win and fourth in five games overall.
“Our experience took over there in the fourth quarter,” Cone said during the customary winning coach’s interview. “We’re experienced at what we do and we know that it is difficult for them.”
Cone was referring to the Triangle Offense, the same philosophy that the Kings have started using ever since Jeffrey Cariaso — Cone’s erstwhile chief deputy at San Mig — took over about a month ago.
“We just exploited that. We tried to hang on and picked up the pressure in the fourth,” Cone said. “We kind of let the dogs out. I have been telling my players that ‘it’s still our time.’ But they (Kings) will learn from this.”
From that one-point deficit, the Mixers let it all hang out on the floor and methodically tore the Kings to shreds, racing to a 94-79 lead by holding Ginebra scoreless for a shade over four minutes.
And that was all he wrote for Ginebra for the night as the Kings lost for the first time in four games – also the first setback for Cariaso.
“I just told him (Cariaso): ‘Good game,’” Cone said when asked what he whispered to Cariaso’s ear when they hugged at center court after the carnage. “I am so proud of what Jeff is doing out there (at Ginebra).
“They are an up-and-coming team, and I hope they stay that way (for the rest of the season, at least),” added Cone, who could complete the second Grand Slam of his career with a repeat championship here.
Blakely scored 10 of his 15 fourth period points in that telling run, which was highlighted by a whirlwind sequence that had the Mixers scoring five straight points in a span of 17 seconds because of a swarming defensive effort.
Marc Barroca scored seven points in the fourth period and Peter June Simon finished with 19, most of them when the Mixers were trying to keep in step as Ginebra played with control for more than the first three periods.
Cone attributes Ginebra’s meltdown to the Kings’ unfamiliarity with the Triangle Offense, and this was echoed by Cariaso later on.
“We still lack mental toughness,” Cariaso rued.
The win gave the Mixers the lead heading into the final two weeks of the elimination round, while Ginebra dropped into a second place tie with idle Air21 and Talk ‘N Text.
Incidentally, the Express and the Tropang Texters gun for solo second spot when they clash Monday at the Mall of Asia Arena at 8 p.m.
Meanwhile, Meralco finally broke into the win column earlier in the night after surviving Alaska, 88-87, behind a sterling 20-point, 10-rebound effort from sophomore forward Clifford Hodge.
It was the first win in five games for the Bolts, who stayed in the running for a playoff seat. Alaska lost a second straight game under Alex Compton and dropped to 2-3 overall, now outside of the Top Four that will gain twice-to-beat privileges in the quarterfinals.