MANILA — The San Mig Coffee Mixers ran roughshod over a hapless and crippled Barangay Ginebra San Miguel squad with four players sidelined by illness and injuries to post a 78-68 victory Sunday in the main game of the first triple-header in the 2012-2013 PBA Philippine Cup at the jampacked Smart Araneta Coliseum. The lethargic Kings never posed a threat as their losing streak extended to five games. The win pulled San Mig Coffee into a triple tie for second to fourth places with Alaska and Rain or Shine, all with a 5-2 win-loss card. Joe Devance led the Coffee Mixers with 18 points, including a pair of three-point shots that ignited the Coffee Mixers' breakaway. James Yap contributed 14 points, while Peter June Simon and Marc Pingris added 13 and 11, respectively. San Mig Coffee posted a huge 22-point lead, 73-51, with 7:30 left, silencing the mainly pro-Ginebra crowd. The Kings came into the game without Kerby Raymundo who was down with the flu. Jayjay Helterbrand and Allein Maliksi also did not suit up as the two were nursing hamstring and ankle injuries, respectively. To make matters worse, the Kings lost another player as Dylan Ababou fell down early in the game after apparently tearing his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during a play. Mark Caguioa led the Kings with 16 points, while LA Tenorio and Chris Ellis contributed 12 and 11 points, respectively. The Kings continued to find no answer to their misery after winning their first two games. They now find themselves at eighth to ninth place in the rankings, tied with the Air21 Express, both with 2-5 win-loss card. In the second game, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters played superb basketball on both ends of the court to demolish the Meralco Bolts, 106-81. Still sore after losing a close game to the Talk N Text Tropang Texters last Oct. 27, the Painters vented their ire on the shell-shocked Bolts as they coasted along to their fifth win in seven games after leading by as many as 33 points, 94-61, midway in the fourth. “One way to redeem ourselves coming off a loss was to play our best game against the hottest team,” said Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao. Their easy win was a surprise for Guiao. “Meralco is one of the hottest teams in the league right now and I'm really surprised that we beat them in the manner that we beat them today. I was looking for a tight endgame struggle,” he said. Jireh Ibanes led the Painters with 23 points. Ibanes also shone on defense, limiting Meralco spitfire Sol Mercado to just nine points on 3-of-14 shooting. Beau Belga contributed 16 points, Ryan Arana chipped in 15, while JR Quinahan added 10. Mac Cardona led Meralco with 20 points, while Sunday Salvacion had 14. So tight was Rain or Shine's defense that Meralco was limited to nine points in the second quarter while the Painters poured 39 points in the third quarter. In the opener, Ronald Tubid turned hero as he sank the game-winner on an undergoal stab with 18 seconds left as the Barako Bull Energy Colas eked out a 95-94 win against the GlobalPort Batang Pier. Tubid finished with 19 points, while Rico Villanueva chipped in 18 markers. Before sinking the winning basket, Tubid missed a point-blank shot underneath the goal. Fortunately, the Energy Colas regained possession and once again Tubid found himself with the ball as time was ticking away. Without hesitation, the athletic shooting guard redeemed himself as he powered his way to the basket for the win. GlobalPort still had a chance to take the game away, but Josh Vanlangdingham's three-point shot clanked off the rim as the buzzer sounded. The win ended the Energy Colas' three-game losing streak as they improved to a 3-5 win-loss mark. Mark Yee led the Batang Pier with 20 points, while Willie Miller added 17 points. The Batang Pier suffered their seventh defeat in eight games as they remained glued at the bottom of the standings.
