Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — In a performance that stunned even their coach, James Yap and PJ Simon both exploded for a combined 58 points as the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers crushed the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings, 110-87, Wednesday night in the deciding Game 7 of their PLDT MYDSL PBA Philippine Cup semifinals. Watched by a record-breaking crowd of 24,883 fans at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum and millions more on television, the epic victory sent the Mixers into the best-of-seven finals of the all-Filipino conference against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. That series begins Friday night. Living up to his monicker “Big Game James,” Yap played his best game in the conference, scoring a game-high 30 points on an 11-of-18 shooting, including 7-of-10 from beyond the three-point arc that set the tone for the do-or-die match. He drilled five of those triples in the first half which San Mig took, 57-44. Simon took over from Yap in the second half, finishing with 28 points on 11-of-15 shooting, as the Mixers pulled away from the flabbergasted Kings. Rookie Ian Sangalang and veteran Rafi Reavis also played marvelously for San Mig on both ends of the court, contributing 15 points apiece off the bench. Reavis also had 12 rebounds while Sangalang snagged seven boards of his own. Marc Pingris added eight points, 10 rebounds and seven assists while Mark Barroca chipped in six points and 10 assists. The Mixers shot a stupendous 42-of-70 (60 percent) from the floor on top of 30 assists. In contrast, the Kings shot 32-of-83 (38.6 percent) from the floor and had just 17 assists. The Mixers' awesome performance was just too much for the game but outclassed Kings. Mark Caguioa led Ginebra with 23 points and five rebounds. Japeth Aguilar contributed 17 points and nine rebounds. LA Tenorio scored 16 points but converted just two of 12 attempts from three-point range. The San Mig defense also limited him to just two assists in 36 minutes of action. Greg Slaughter finished with a quiet12 points and three rebounds after a spectacular performance in Game 6. “Too much James and PJ tonight,” said San Mig coach Tim Cone as he led the former Purefoods franchise to a second straight finals appearance, fourth over the last six conferences, and 25th overall. “I've never seen such a shooting performance by two guys ever before in my life, especially in a Game Seven, just phenomenal. I mean, shooting like that, for sure, nobody can beat us,” Cone added. The finals would serve as a rematch between the Mixers and the Painters who figured in the 2012 Governors' Cup finals. Rain or Shine won that best-of-seven series that went the distance. Game Friday: Rain or Shine vs. San Mig Super Coffee (Game 1, finals).
