SAN Mig Coffee went on a relentless third quarter assault on its way to clobbering a listless Rain or Shine squad, 91-74, for its third straight win in the PBA Commissioner's Cup Saturday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Mixers relied on their efficient shooting, fluid ball movement, and unrelenting rebounding in keeping their mastery of the Elasto Painters.
It was the first meeting between the two protagonists of the last Philippine Cup Finals which San Mig won, 4-2.
The Mixers improved to 3-0 and remained as one of only two unbeaten teams in the mid-season conference along with idle Talk `N Text (5-0).
Rain or Shine remained at the bottom half of the standing with its 1-3 record, absorbing its first back-to-back loss of the conference as it continued to miss the services of injured players JR Quinahan and Ryan Arana.
Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao was so upset with the way his team played in the second half that he opted to bench import Alex McLean in the fourth period.
San Mig held a 70-51 lead entering the final quarter.
Guiao said recently that he's keeping his options open as far as replacing McLean is concerned.
"We had a little bit of everything going for us today," said a beaming San Mig coach Tim Cone after the game.
"We played really good defense, we controlled the boards, just kind of overpowered them inside with big James (Mays)."
Cone also credited the locals for stepping up big when Mays picked up his third foul during the second period.
Cone said the Mixers’ defense set the tone for the rout, being conscious the Elasto Painters will try to bounce back strong after losing to San Miguel Beer on Wednesday, 112-107.
"I think they (Elasto Painters) want to get off really quickly. So they got frustrated, we knew we have to be real sharp to start the game, and we were," said Cone.
"If we weren't, we would have given them the momentum they wanted."
Mays led the Mixers with 18 points and 15 rebounds in just 30 minutes of action.
PJ Simon added 16 while Marc Pingris chipped in 10.
Rain or Shine drew 18 points from McLean while Paul Lee added 12.
The scores:
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