Blakely, Pingris power San Mig Coffee to PBA Governors Cup title

MANILA, Philippines – San Mig Coffee came through with the final push that it failed to deliver last year, living a dream as the Mixers outfought the Petron Blaze Boosters, 87-77, in the final game of the season and claimed the PBA Governors Cup crown before a delirious crowd of over 21,000 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Friday night.

It was 48 minutes of hard action and wild momentum swings going San Mig’s way in the end on big time efforts churned out by Marqus Blakely and Marc Pingris.

The two were dominant forces, outdueling Elijah Millsap and 6-foot-11 behemoth Junmar Fajardo, and outhustling just everybody in the contest. As they locked each other in a warm embrace at center court after one of their big plays in the homestretch, the San Mig bench and their supporters started celebrating the team’s 10th championship.

Coach Tim Cone and his troops went on to complete a great journey, a year after seeing their ride in the same tourney end in a nightmare.

Thus San Mig Coffee eventually broke off a tie with Toyota as the league’s fourth winningest team behind Petron (19), Alaska (14) and Crispa (13) while Cone eventually tied coach Baby Dalupan’s all-time best record of 15 titles.

Blakely, a vanquished import last year, returned as a conquering hero, whooping it up with his proud father in the stands.

“It’s incredibly humbling,” said Cone of the team’s achievement and his personal milestone.

“I’m totally shocked at how these guys were able to do that. They didn’t play perfect basketball but they dished out perfect effort, especially tonight,” Cone also said.

No one beat the efforts dished out by Pingris.

The 6-foot-4 Pozzorubio, Pangasinan native mirrored his exploits in Gilas Pilipinas’ conquest of South Korea in the semifinals of the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship, sparkling with 19 points, 17 rebounds, five blocks and two assists.

With series averages of 12.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.5 steals, Pingris ended up the hands-down choice as Papa John’s Pizza Finals MVP.

Blakely and Pingris joined hands to tear Petron Blaze apart at the finish, foiling the Boosters’ bid for a 20th crown.

The underdog in the series, San Mig Coffee defied the odds, beating Petron Blaze in Games Two, Four, Five and Seven.

The Mixers overcame the Petron team built to win a title. San Mig’s experience prevailed over Petron’s promise in the end.

Millsap was on a hot binge when he picked up a fourth foul with 7:20 left in the third period, necessitating him to sit out precious minutes – an opening San Mig pounded to make a nine-to-nothing run to surge ahead at 57-53.

But Blakely got in the same situation with 1:37 left in the same quarter, and the Boosters made their own key run to go up, 61-60.

It was a battle from the start – the first half seeing no side leading by more than six.

The protagonists fought to a 19-all deadlock in the opening quarter before Blakely and PJ Simon got going as the Mixers took the half at 41-39.

Quiet in the opening period, Blakely went roaring in the second period, collecting eight points (on 4-of-5 clip), three rebounds and two steals.

The Mixers enjoyed the two-point edge in the first half while converting 46.3 percent of their shots compared to Petron’s 40.5-percent clip. The two teams were almost equal on other numbers.