San Mig looks to finish off Talk 'N Text tonight

After finishing five full games behind the frontrunner in the elims then needing to go through sudden deaths in the quarterfinals and in the semis, San Mig Coffee, suddenly, has got two cracks at stealing the thunder in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup and joining the elite group of hat-trick achievers in the pro league.

In the very venue of its glorious years in the 90s – the Philsports Arena or Ultra in Pasig, San Mig Coffee (formerly Purefoods) tries to write a new chapter in franchise history tonight, going for a first-ever treble in taking on embattled Talk ‘N Text in Game Four of their best-of-five title playoff.

Game time is at 8 p.m. and, if ever, the Mixers would be the first PBA team to score a “three-peat” since coach Jong Uichico also authored three straight championships for San Miguel Beer starting in the 2000 Commissioner’s Cup.

Before the dominant run of that SMB team led by Danny Ildefonso and Danny Seigle, the other teams which had done the trick were Crispa (twice in their golden era in the 70s to the early 80s), Great Taste (1984-85), the 1989 San Miguel Beer Grand Slam team and Alaska Milk (1996 and 1997-98).

Prior to their own run, San Mig Coffee had never won successive championships.

But with the dogged determination of James Yap, Marc Pingris, PJ Simon and their teammates, the Mixers are about to break new ground, threatening to steal the show from the TNT team now on the rim of disintegration after a rock-solid 13-game romp from the eliminations to the semifinals.

It could have been the other way around if the Mixers didn’t find a way to wiggle out of a four-point deficit entering the final minute of Game Three Tuesday at the Big Dome.

James Mays came through with a big three-point play off Ranidel de Ocampo then James Yap knocked in an equally huge corner jumper, and the Mixers snatched a 77-75 victory to gain the crucial 2-1 series lead.

Needless to say, the Mixers want to deliver the killer blow in Game Four.

“For us to do that, we’ll need a better effort than what we gave in each of the first three games of the series,” said San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone.

“We’ve got to figure a way to get them uncomfortable again. We need to be ready and willing to grind out a win,” Cone also said.

The Mixers held the Texters to conference-low outputs in winning Game One, 95-80, and Game Three, 77-75. After blowing what had seemed a won ball game Tuesday, Talk ‘N Text coach Norman Black said: “It was a hard-fought game, and San Mig came out on top. We’ve got to put this one behind us.” Then he pleaded for a better officiating. “I hope that the game is governed well to be given a fair chance of winning. Contacts should be called evenly on both ends,” he said. “If you call a foul on one team, the same contact should be called on the other end. That’s the fairness of competitive sport and fairness of the game.”

Asked to cite specific plays, Black said they would need to review the videos first.

But Black might better focus on mapping out game plan or they put to naught their dominant run in the tourney.