San Mig Coffee Mixers
Credit: Twitter
James Yap for 3. That line seems to be a very common to sports broadcaster whenever San Mig Coffee Mixers is playing.
That last 3-point-shot of James Yap proved to be the big difference during the Game 5 win of San Mig Coffee over Ginebra at the Araneta Coliseum on Saturday, February 8, 2014.
The rainbow connection by James Yap gave the Mixers a two-point advantage with 13.4 seconds left in the game.
With the win, San Mig now virtually holds a twice to beat advantage with a 3-2 lead series lead.
Tied at 74 all with 52 seconds remaining, Marc Pingris challenged Greg Slaughter on the low block to earn a trip to the line. Pingris missed the first before making the second, pushing San Mig Coffee ahead by one with 40 seconds remaining.
In the next play, LA Tenorio milked the clock, before dishing off to Chris Ellis who knocked it down at the elbow. Off a timeout with 22.9 left, San Mig Coffee went to James Yap, who converted from deep, pushing the Mixers ahead by two.
Coach Ato Agustin called for time with 13.4 remaining. LA Tenorio inbounded the ball, before taking it back from Slaughter. Tenorio went for a crazy drive, as his layup sailed long. Justin Melton swiped the defensive board before being fouled. The speedster pointguard split from the line, making it a three-point game with seven seconds remaining.
With Ginebra needing a three to send the game into overtime, LA Tenorio inexplicably went for another drive that also missed the mark as time expired.
In the opening period, the Mixers got little production outside their frontcourt of Marc Pingris and Raffy Reavis, who scored 10 of their first 13 points. They trailed against Ginebra early, as LA Tenorio steered his team to a 16-13 margin. Ginebra led by as much as six, 21-15, after a Chris Ellis and-one. However, they conceded six straight points in the last two minutes, including a Joe Devance triple with 19 seconds left, 21-21, allowing the Mixers to tie the score.
Alex Mallari and Ellis went tit-for-tat to start the second quarter, but the Mixers gained some breathing room after Mark Barroca forced back-to-back turnover baskets, 39-34, with four minutes to play. Barroca’s crafty play put San Mig Coffee up by six with under a minute left, until Jay-R Reyes made consecutive shots to trim Ginebra’s deficit at halftime, 46-44.
San Mig Coffee slowed the game to a crawl after the break and extended the lead, 52-49, after a Reavis putback. But Ginebra began forcing turnovers for Elllis to finish at the other end, scoring six to take a 57-56 edge. However, similar to the first quarter, Ginebra disappeared completely down the stretch. The Mixers put up another 6-0 burst to end the frame, capped by Barroca’s trey with 37 seconds left, to lead 62-57.
Ginebra had just two field goals for most of the fourth quarter, while San Mig Coffee took it strong inside. The Mixers saw their lead shrink to as much as three points, but a fast break layup by PJ Simon pushed it back up to seven, 70-63.
After being absent for most of the game, Japeth Aguilar made his presence felt with four minutes remaining. Aguilar scored five of their next six, including an and-one in transition to pull within one, 70-69. James Yap countered with a layup on the other end, but Aguilar returned serve with a pass to Ellis in the corner for a three-pointer, knotting the game at 72-72 with two minutes and change left. Greg Slaughter scored his ninth point, answering a Reavis layup, forcing the Mixers to take a timeout.