Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — The San Mig Super Coffee Mixers grabbed the last ticket in the Final Four of the PLDT Home DSL PBA Philippine Cup, eliminating the three-time defending champion Talk N Text Tropang Texters with a 90-82 victory Sunday night at the Cuneta Astrodome. By winning their quarterfinals series, 2-1, the fifth-seeded Mixers arranged a best-of-seven semifinals showdown with the top-seeded Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings, which begins Tuesday. San Mig will be making its sixth straight semifinal appearance. Point guard Mark Barroca sparkled for the Mixers, finishing with a team-high 18 points, 12 rebounds, five assists and two steals in 37 minutes of action. Two other veterans shone for San Mig – Joe Devance and Marc Pingris who scored 14 and 13 points respectively. San Mig head coach Tim Cone also unleashed a “secret weapon” in seldom used rookie Justin Melton who came off the bench to finish with a career-high 12 points and four rebounds. Melton's points all came from beyond the arc as he nailed four of the Mixers' 10 three-pointers in the game. “Justin was really, really key for us. He hit big shots, he made big stops and he gave us a whole new dimension,” Cone said. Tenacious defense also played a key role in San Mig's victory as the Mixers held the Texters scoreless in the last two and a half minutes of the game. San Mig's defense held Talk N Text to just 34.6 percent shooting from the field. Ranidel de Ocampo led the Texters with 22 points, including four three-pointers. Jayson Castro added 15. However, the Talk N Text point guard was held to just four points in the second half as he struggled with Barroca's uncompromising defense. Talk N Text head coach Norman Black, normally cool and composed, was furious after the match. In post-game comments, Black accused the referees of bias against his team. “I think it's ridiculous if one team is called for nine straight (fouls) and another team has none,” he said. In the fourth quarter, the referees called 11 fouls on Talk N Text in stark contrast to just one foul for San Mig. Sixteen free throws were awarded to the Mixers who converted nine of them, helping San Mig pull away in a game marked by eight deadlocks and 17 lead changes. In contrast, not a single free throw was awarded to the Texters despite the leech-like guarding employed by the Mixers. Monday's match: Rain or Shine vs. Petron Blaze (Game 1, semis).
