SAN Mig relied on its game-long defensive pressure and tenacious gang-rebounding to beat Talk 'N Text, 90-83, in Game One of their PLDT myDSL-PBA Philippine Cup best-of-three quarterfinal series on Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
The resurgent Mixers were relentless on both ends of the floor, challenging every shot, diving for every loose ball and just simply showing that they wanted the game more than the defending champions as they continued a streak that started with four wins to end the eliminations.
Peter June Simon fired 20 points on top of seven rebounds, sparking the offense with his timely sniping that allowed the Mixers to move within a win of ending Talk'N Text's three-year reign as all-Filipino Cup champions.
“We played well from start to finish. We got off to a pretty good start and got the lead at halftime, and, they never got their three-point shooting really going. So I guess that spelled the difference,” said San Mig coach Tim Cone.
Game Two of the best-of-three series is set on Friday.
Cone liked the way the offense was distributed for his team, which got 12 points from Joe Devance, 11 each from Mark Barroca and James Yap, while Marc Pingris added 10 and 13 boards.
“We had contributions across the board, though PJ had a great game. James played well, Joe and Ping, so hopefully, we can repeat it on Friday. We just have to figure out one more time how to beat them,” he added.
The Mixers outrebounded the Tropang Texters, 55-45, leading to a huge 16-5 advantage on second chance points.
The win also spoiled the debut of Talk ‘N Text new boy Nino Canaleta, who had eight points on two triples and five rebounds in 25 minutes a day after joining the team from Air21.
Talk “N Text shot just 35.9 percent from the field, which explains the three-time champion’s game-long struggle.
Jason Castro carried the fight for Talk ‘N Text, firing a game-high 24 points, while Danny Seigle finished with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The scores:
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