MANILA — Redeeming himself after a forgettable start, Denzel Bowles this time showed the true heart of a champion import that he was last year. Bowles exploded for 29 points, 23 rebounds, and three shot blocks in 42 minutes of torrid action to power the San Mig Coffee Mixers to a pulsating 90-82 victory against the powerhouse Talk N Text Tropang Texters Sunday in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. The win was San Mig Coffee's first in four outings as the Mixers climbed a notch higher from the bottom of the standings. TNT suffered its second loss in four games. Atoning for his mediocre 12-point output Friday in a game the Mixers lost against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, Bowles dominated the game right from the start. He was at his explosive best in the fourth quarter when he racked up 14 points while dominating the boards. With Bowles patrolling the shaded lane and the rest of the Mixers on full defensive mode, the Texters were limited to just 4-of-21 shooting in the final quarter. PJ Simon and Marc Pingris added 13 and 12 points respectively for the Mixers, making up for the miserable performance of their top gunner James Yap who struggled for just six points. Jason Castro was the leading scorer for the Texters with 18 points, while import Keith Benson added 17 points and 17 rebounds. It was also a day of redemption for San Mig Coffee head coach Tim Cone who said he felt humiliated by his team's three-game losing streak, particularly in their last two games when they lost by an average margin of 26.5 points. In the first game of the Sunday double-header, it was Sunday Salvacion's day as he nailed the winning shot from beyond the arc as the buzzer sounded to pull the Meralco Bolts to a dramatic come-from-behind 90-89 win against the GlobalPort Batang Pier. Fielded for the first time in the tournament by Meralco head coach Ryan Gregorio, Salvacion was heroic, topscoring with 20 points including 6-of-7 three-point attempts. With a second to go and GlobalPort ahead by two points, 89-87, Salvacion received the ball from a driving Macmac Cardona and quickly launched a desperation three-point bank shot that went in as time expired. The win snapped the Bolts' three-game losing streak as Meralco tied GlobalPort at sixth to seventh place in the standings, both with a 2-3 win-loss card. It was a disappointing loss for the Batang Pier who appeared to be in control of the game, leading by as much as 17 points, 46-29, in the first half. But the Bolts did not lose heart and methodically chopped the lead to make it a game at crunch time. Import Eric Dawson added 19 points for Meralco while Cliff Hodge and Cardona had 16 and 15 points respectively. Gary David led the Batang Pier with 27 points while Willie Miller added 22.
