Coffee Kings join semifinal cast

San Mig Coffee overcame a sluggish start with a strong finishing kick as it smothered Pharex, 77-65, yesterday to barge into the semifinals of the PBL V-Go Extreme Energy Drink Cup at the Arena in San Juan City.

Nigerian behemoth Sam Ekwe came away with 20 points and 10 rebounds in his first game since rejoining the team over the weekend as the Coffee Kings arranged a best-of-three duel with four-peat seeking Harbour Centre for the first championship berth.

“It’s really a team decision to add Sam, Pong (Escobal) and Ogie (Menor) to the team and we’re glad we made that decision,” said San Mig coach Koy Banal.

Escobal, however, struggled in his return with six points, five assists and two rebounds while Menor, the 2007 NCAA Finals MVP, had a scoreless outing.

The Coffee Kings struggled in the early going in the face of the Medics’ hot start before outscoring the latter in the last three quarters to hammer out the win.

“We were struggling at the start because the San Beda players were too eager to play. I’m glad we recovered,” said Banal.

Earlier, Mail & More turned back Toyota Balintawak, 69-62, to force a sudden death for the last semifinal seat set today at The Arena.

Nestor David shot 13 points and had four rebounds, four assists, one steal and one shotblock as the Comets led from start to finish to remain in the hunt.

The winner of the Mail & More-Toyota Balintawak match will meet the Hapee Toothpaste Complete Protectors, who swept the classification phase.