MANILA — Shame brought out the best in San Mig Coffee Friday. Smarting from an embarrassing 29-point loss to Talk N Text just two days ago, the Mixers played precision basketball to crush the Air21 Express, 89-80, in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. James Yap led the Mixers' bounce-back win, scoring 20 points, as San Mig Coffee notched its eighth win in 11 games to tie Rain or Shine at second to third spot in the rankings. Mark Barroca added 12 points, including two clutch baskets in the endgame, which ignited a 7-0 run that sealed the win for the Mixers. Barroca also had five rebounds and two assists. San Mig Coffee head coach Tim Cone said its crushing defeat against Talk N Text gave it the extra fire to win the next game. “We used the loss to Talk N Text as a way to propel us, just like what we did when we lost to Powerade, which led us eventually to winning the Commissioner's Cup last season,” Cone said. K.G. Canaleta led Air21 with 18 points as the Express suffered its second straight loss and seventh overall in 11 games. In the first match of the Friday double-header, the Meralco Bolts also bounced back from a loss against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters Wednesday, beating the hapless GlobalPort Batang Pier, 101-92. Sol Mercado and Ronjay Buenafe made sure there would be no repeat of their end-game collapse against Rain or Shine as they presided over a searing Meralco blitz in the fourth quarter. With the game tied at 83-all with 4:13 left, Buenafe and Mercado drilled a three-pointer each to spark a 10-0 blast to pour cold water on GlobalPort's upset hopes. Mercado finished with 24 points and nine assists, while Buenafe had 14. Mac Cardona top-scored for Meralco with 26 points. Rookie big man Kelly Nabong also had a huge role in the Bolts' victory, contributing a career-best 18 points and 11 rebounds. The win improved Meralco's win-loss mark to 6-5, good for solo fourth in the standings. The victory avenged Meralco's 104-105 first round upset loss to GlobalPort, the latter's only win so far in the conference. The Batang Pier suffered its seventh straight loss and 10th overall in 11 games despite a season-high 33-point production from their top gunner Gary David. Meralco head coach Ryan Gregorio attributed Friday's victory to his team's tough defense and own “brand of basketball.” “Humility was a key factor in our success today. We should know how to handle success. Bully basketball is not part of our vocabulary. We're winning games because of our tough defense and solid basketball,” he said. Meanwhile, the PBA imposed penalties on erring players in Wednesday's “slugfest” between Rain or Shine and Meralco. Rain or Shine's J.R. Quinahan and Ryan Arana were each slapped a 20,000-peso fine for committing flagrant foul against Meralco's Mercado, who was likewise meted a 5,000-peso fine. Three other Meralco players were slapped with fines – Cliff Hodge, Nabong and Cardona who were each meted a 5,000-peso fine.
