MANILA, Philippines (UPDATE) – San Mig Coffee banked on a strong first half to dominate Barangay Ginebra and complete a 110-87 Game 7 win in the semifinals of the PBA Philippine Cup on Wednesday.
James Yap scored 24 of his 30 points in the first 2 quarters as the Mixers outpaced and outhustled the Gin Kings in front of a record 24,883 spectators at the Big Dome.
The victory enabled San Mig Coffee to arrange a titular match-up with early finalist Rain or Shine.
“Do-or-die, so kailangan talaga pag lumaro ka parang wala nang bukas,” said Yap in a post-game interview.
The two-time MVP, who was hampered by injuries in the eliminations, was a major factor in the semis.
It was his go ahead-jumper that saved the Mixers from the Gin Kings in Game 5. In Game 7, he rained successive triples in a 70% field-goal-shooting performance.
“Lagi kong inisiip kapag do-or-die ilabas mo na lahat ng nalalaman mo sa basketball mula nung bata ka,” said Yap, who also grabbed 6 rebounds. “Kailangan mong iprove ang sarili mo, na ‘hey, nandito pa rin kami.’”
Yap also got plenty of help from his teammates, particularly PJ Simon and Rafi Reavis.
Reavis did the most damage in the first quarter where he scored 12 of his 15 points. In the fourth quarter, it was Simon’s turn to terrorize Ginebra’s defenders for a total of 28 points.
San Mig Coffee raced to a 26-15 lead in the first quarter, until Jayjay Helterbrand stepped up to help Ginebra to slice the lead, 20-28.
Mark Caguioa started doing damage in the second canto when he partnered with Helterbrand in a run-and-gun game. “The Spark’s” jumper knotted the scores, 32-all, 8:30 minutes left in that period.
But the Gin Kings found themselves in serious trouble when Yap started nailing his triples. “Big Game James” pushed San Mig to a commanding 57-44 half time lead.
LA Tenorio and Billy Mamaril tried to rally Ginebra in the third. San Mig Coffee, however, held on to a 79-67 advantage going into the final quarter.
The Kings tried to get back in the fourth, but could not get nearer than 12. They appeared to have surrendered the fight when Mixers stretched the lead to 21 points before the final 2 minutes.
Mark Caguioa topscored for Ginebra with 23 points. His teammates, however, failed to provide additional scoring boost.
Tenorio had 16, while Chris Ellis was held to just 4.
Box scores:
San Mig Coffee 110 - Yap 30, Simon 28, Sangalang 15, Reavis 15, Pingris 8, Barroca 6, Mallari 6, Devance 2, Melton 0.
Ginebra 87 - Caguioa 23, Aguilar 17, Tenorio 16, Slaughter 12, Mamaril 6, Helterbrand 5, Ellis 4, Baracael 3, Reyes 1, Monfort 0, Urbiztondo 0.
Quarterscores: 28-20, 57-44, 79-67, 110-87
