The last time the San Mig
Coffee Mixers were in the PBA Finals, they lost in seven games to the Rain or
Shine Elasto-Painters. That was just last year, in this very same tournament,
when they were still known as the B-Meg Llamados.
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| Marqus Blakely will try to redeem himself in his second run in the Govs' Cup Finals. (image by Paolo Papa/InterAKTV) |
The Llamados lost three of
the first four games in the series, which effectively put them on the brink of
losing the championship. They clawed back, however, in Games 5 & 6, winning
by an average of 13 points. Coach Tim Cone’s wards were able to tie the series
and force a seventh game.
The Painters had the
better start in that rubber match, leading by 13 after the first period, but
the Llamados battled back and made a game of it all the way. In the end,
though, ROS exploited Marqus Blakely’s falling into foul trouble and made the
big shots to ice the game and the title.
It was a great time for
coach Yeng Guiao, who guaranteed the title after his squad lost Game 2. The
Llamados, meanwhile, who were one of the deepest teams in the league, found
themselves swimming in self-doubt. Blakely, in particular, felt quite
responsible for the Finals defeat, and vowed to return with a vengeance.
“I think we have something
to prove, for sure,” he said in a recent interview.
So far, Blakely has been
proving one thing – that he and his team are ready to atone for last year’s
slip-and-slide. He has been averaging 25.0 points, 16.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists,
2.7 blocks, and 1.7 steals per game, while also shooting 50% from the field. In
short, Blakely has been superb, not to mention most of his stats are better
than last year’s numbers. His player efficiency rating, in fact, has gone up
from 50.3 EFF in 2012 to 55.8 EFF this season. Clearly, he won’t leave any
stone unturned in his quest to snare the crown.
Helping him along the way
will be a slew of locals who have been stepping up at the most critical times.
In the Mixers’ huge win
over Meralco near the end of the elims, it was PJ Simon who waxed hot, scoring
20 points on 9/16 FG shooting. A week later, Joe Devance and Allein Maliksi
paired up for 22 points as SMC beat Alaska. In Game 3 of their semis match-up
with the Bolts, the Mixers leaned on young guards Alex Mallari and Mark
Barroca, both of whom combined for 41 markers. In the series-clinching Game 4, it
was the turn of Big Game James Yap and Marc Pingris to lead the team. Yap
drilled 19 points, while Ping scored 16, grabbed 7 boards, and dished out 4
assists.
The moral of the story?
Coach Tim Cone can pluck
anybody on his roster on any given night and know that he will have at least
one guy stepping up. He will need that here, especially against a team as
stacked as Petron Blaze, and also because Allein Maliksi has been relegated to
a glorified cheerleader.
In San Mig’s only game
against Petron this conference, the Boosters won pretty much because the Mixers
were rather careless with the basketball (22 turnovers) and horrendous from the
line (11/22 free throws). This despite coach Cone’s wards outrebounding Petron,
having more assists, blocking more shots, and shooting much better from the
field (43% to 33%). Even import Marqus Blakely was “held back” by the Boosters.
Blakely shot 11/17 from the floor, but he accounted for 8 of SMC’s 11 misses
from the line.
For the Mixers to atone
not just for that loss but also for the loss in Game 7 of last season’s Govs’
Cup, they will need to be at their very best. SMC will have to find a way to
limit Petron’s hulking frontline. Their guards will have to be sharp both in
terms of shooting and playmaking. And, perhaps most of all, Blakely must be
able to hit those friggin’ free throws, else their bid for redemption goes up
in smoke.
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