2014 PBA Commissioner's Cup finals

2014 PBA Commissioner's Cup finals

Team Coach Wins (6) San Mig Super Coffee Mixers Tim Cone 3 (1) Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters Norman Black 1
Dates	May 9–15, 2014
MVP	James Yap (San Mig Super Coffee)
Television	Sports5 TV5 and AksyonTV Cignal Digital TV (in high definition) (local) Fox Sports Asia and AksyonTV International (international)
Announcers	See broadcast notes
Radio network	DZSR
Referees
Game 1: P. Balao, J. Mariano, R. Dacanay Game 2: N. Quilingen, E. Aquino, A. Tankion Game 3: E. Tankion, P. Balao, A. Herrera Game 4: A. Herrera, N. Quilingen, J. Mariano
PBA Commissioner's Cup finals chronology
<  2013 2015  >
PBA finals chronology
<  2013–14 Philippine 2014 Governors'  >

The 2014 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner's Cup finals was the best-of-5 championship series of the 2014 PBA Commissioner's Cup, and the conclusion of the conference's playoffs. The Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters and the San Mig Super Coffee competed for the 14th Commissioner's Cup championship and the 111th overall championship contested by the league. The format was shortened to a best-of-5 format instead of the usual best-of-7 due to changes in the season calendar to accommodate Gilas Pilipinas's participation in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup and the 2014 Asian Games. ^[1]

This championship was also the first PBA finals series that aired in high-definition television for Cignal Digital TV subscribers. ^[2]

Prior the finals series, Talk 'N Text had a 13-0 record, ^[3] sweeping both the elimination (nine games) ^[4] and playoff (four games) rounds. ^[5] San Mig Super Coffee however won the championship after defeating Talk 'N Text in their finals series, 3-1. ^{[6] [7]}

Background

San Mig Super Coffee Mixers

San Mig Super Coffee finished 6th place after the elimination round with a 4-5 record. The team was pitted with the defending champions Alaska in a best-of-three quarterfinal series. ^{[8] [9]} Alaska won the first game, 86-77 and was on verge of eliminating San Mig Coffee. ^[10] The Mixers managed to win the next two games to advance to the semifinal round ^[11] against Air21 Express, an unexpected semifinalist after they had eliminated the second seeded San Miguel Beermen, who had a twice-to-beat advantage. ^[12]

Led by the 41-year-old Asi Taulava, they won the first game against the Mixers, 103-100. ^[13] San Mig Coffee went on to win the next two games to grab the series lead and was one win away in clinching a finals berth. However, the Express went on a three-point shooting spree on Game 4, and forced a rubber match. ^[14] Game 5 was eventually won by the Mixers, 99-83. ^[15]

Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters

After being dethroned in the previous conference, Talk 'N Text swept the elimination round, becoming the first team since the 1990 Presto Tivolis to become undefeated in the eliminations, which the Tivolis did in the 1990 PBA All-Filipino Conference. ^[4] The Tropang Texters gained the top seed and a twice-to-beat advantage against Barangay Ginebra San Miguel. They easily defeated Barangay Ginebra, 97–84, in the quarterfinals ^[16] and went on to face third seeded Rain or Shine in the semifinals. Talk 'N Text swept Rain or Shine in three games. ^[5] This achievement gave them a chance to completely sweep the tournament, which was nearly achieved by the 1980 Crispa Redmanizers, who finished 20-1 in the tournament, after they were defeated by the Toyota Super Corollas in Game 3 of the 1980 PBA All-Filipino Conference finals. ^[17]

Road to the finals

Main article: 2014 PBA Commissioner's Cup

San Mig Super Coffee		Talk 'N Text
Finished 4–5 (0.444): 6th place	Elimination round		Finished 9–0 (1.000): 1st place
Def. Alaska, 2–1 (best-of-three)	Quarterfinals		Def. Barangay Ginebra, 97–84 (twice-to-beat advantage)
Def. Air21, 3–2	Semifinals		Def. Rain or Shine, 3–0

Head-to-head matchup

March 31

recap

Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters 81, San Mig Super Coffee Mixers 75

Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City

Series summary

Team	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Wins
San Mig Coffee	95	76	77	100	3
Talk 'N Text	80	86	75	91	1
Venue	Araneta	Araneta	Araneta	PhilSports

Game 1

Sports5

May 9 8:00 pm

boxscore

San Mig Super Coffee Mixers 95, Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters 80
Scoring by quarter: 17–17, 27–23, 26–17, 25–23
Pts: Yap 17 Rebs: Mays 12 Asts: Yap, Barroca, Devance, de Ocampo 3		Pts: Castro 17 Rebs: Howell 13 Asts: Alapag 4
San Mig Super Coffee leads series, 1–0

Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: P. Balao, J. Mariano, R. Dacanay

A first half run by the Coffee Mixers helped them gain the lead, and eventually won Game 1, giving Talk 'N Text's first loss in the conference. ^[18]

Game 2

Sports5

May 11 5:00 pm

boxscore

San Mig Super Coffee Mixers 76, Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters 86
Scoring by quarter: 15–19, 18–18, 16–28, 21–27
Pts: Mays, Melton 15 Rebs: Mays 12 Asts: Devance 3		Pts: Castro 30 Rebs: Howell 20 Asts: Castro, Alapag 5
Series tied, 1–1

Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Attendance: 12,829 Referees: N. Quilingen, E. Aquino, A. Tankion

The Texters came back in Game 2 as they took the lead early on and led for most of the game. Near the end of the game, the Mixers, led by their import, James Mays, managed to close in on the Texters, but solid effort on both ends of the floor in the dying minutes helped Talk 'N Text knot the series up, 1-1. ^[19]

Game 3

Sports5

May 13 8:00 pm

boxscore

San Mig Super Coffee Mixers 77, Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters 75
Scoring by quarter:25–15, 12–20, 23–21, 17–19
Pts: Mays 20 Rebs: Mays 14 Asts: Mays 4		Pts: Castro 21 Rebs: Howell 22 Asts: Howell 5
San Mig Super Coffee leads series, 2–1

Smart Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Attendance: 12,486 Referees: E. Tankion, P. Balao, A. Herrera

Game 3 was different for both squads, as the game went close up to the last minutes of the game. With Jimmy Alapag struggling, the Tropang Texters, led by Jayson Castro and Ranidel De Ocampo, took the lead 75-71. However, James Mays gave the Mixers a fighting chance after he knocked down a shot while drawing contact, getting the Mixers closer 74-75. With a possible 2-1 lead in the series, Talk 'N Text drew up a play that could run out the clock, however, De Ocampo turned the ball over after Jayson Castro failed to catch his low bounce pass. With a chance to win, the Mixers turned to James Yap, who drilled a long 2-point shot near the corner to give the Mixers the lead 76-75. Jayson Castro got open for a game winning three-point shot but his shot missed, handing the Mixers a 2-1 lead and a chance to close the series. ^[20]

Game 4

Sports5

May 15 8:00 pm

boxscore

San Mig Super Coffee Mixers 100, Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters 91
Scoring by quarter: 15–25, 23–27, 31–22, 31–17
Pts: Barroca 22 Rebs: Mays 15 Asts: Mays 3		Pts: Alapag 17 Rebs: Howell 12 Asts: Alapag, Ry. Reyes 5
San Mig Super Coffee wins series, 3–1

PhilSports Arena, Pasig Attendance: 10,221 Referees: A. Herrera, N. Quilingen, J. Mariano

In Game 4, Jimmy Alapag lead Tropang Texters to a 17-1 lead in the early minutes of the game. At the half, they led 52-38 after KG Canaleta drilled a three right before the buzzer sounded. A 16-0 run by the Mixers, led by rookie Ian Sangalang gave the Mixers their first lead of the game 69-68 near the end of the 3rd quarter. Jayson Castro and Ranidel De Ocampo knocked down 2 three-point shots to give the Texters the lead back, 74-69. The Texters regained momentum as they took the lead 80-71, just a few minutes into the 4th quarter. The core group of the Mixers, however, helped them rally once again to take the lead 93-89 and held on to win the game, 100-91. The Commissioner's Cup title gave the Mixers their 3rd consecutive championship and a chance to capture a rare season sweep, also known as a Grand Slam, with Marqus Blakely as their import. James Yap was hailed Finals' MVP. ^[6]

Rosters

San Mig Super Coffee Mixers roster

• v
• t
• e

Players	Coaches
Pos. # POB Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From G 2 Melton, Justin  (R) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 163 lb (74 kg) Mount Olive C 4 Reavis, Rafi 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Coppin State C 5 Holstein, Isaac  (R) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 206 lb (93 kg) West Virginia State SF 6 Cawaling, JR  (R) 6 ft 1.75 in (1.87 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Far Eastern SG 8 Simon, Peter June 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Mindanao PG 9 Alvarez, Lester  (IN) 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 154 lb (70 kg) Adamson F/C 10 Sangalang, Ian  (R) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 212 lb (96 kg) San Sebastian SG 11 Mallari, Alex 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 167 lb (76 kg) Lewis–Clark State PG 14 Barroca, Mark 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Far Eastern PF 15 Pingris, Marc 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) PSBA SG 18 Yap, James 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) UE SF 19 Gaco, Jerwin 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) De La Salle G/F 22 Maliksi, Allein   6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) UST SF 33 Acuña, Val 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 179 lb (81 kg) UE PF 38 Devance, Joe 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) UTEP F 40 Mays, James  (I) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Clemson C 95 de Ocampo, Yancy 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Saint Francis of Assisi	Head coach Tim Cone (George Washington) Assistant coach(es) Jeffrey Cariaso (Sonoma State) Richard del Rosario (De La Salle) Olsen Racela (Ateneo) Johnny Abarrientos (Far Eastern) Team manager Alvin Patrimonio (Mapúa) Legend (C) Team captain (CI) Commissioner's Cup Import (GI) Governors' Cup Import (EI) EASL Import (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended (R) Rookie Injured

Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters roster

• v
• t
• e

Players	Coaches
Pos. # POB Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From C 1 Howell, Richard  (I) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1990-09-26 NC State PG 3 Alapag, Jimmy  (C) 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1977-12-30 Cal State San Bernardino PF 4 Carey, Harvey 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1979-03-18 Sonoma State PG 5 Reyes, Jai 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 150 lb (68 kg) 1987-02-25 Ateneo F 7 Baclao, Nonoy 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1987-06-15 Ateneo F 8 Celiz, Robby  (R) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 217 lb (98 kg) 1988-09-07 National-U F 9 Canaleta, Niño 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1982-02-12 UE C/G 10 Reyes, Ryan 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1983-08-10 Cal State Fullerton PG 11 Salamat, Eric 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1988-04-26 San Sebastian G/F 12 Fonacier, Larry 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1982-05-13 Ateneo C/G 17 Castro, Jayson 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 167 lb (76 kg) 1986-06-30 Philippine Christian F 21 Williams, Kelly 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1982-02-07 Oakland F/C 24 Reyes, Robert 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1983-03-16 Flagler F 33 De Ocampo, Ranidel 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1981-12-08 Saint Francis of Assisi F 42 Seigle, Danny 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1976-06-14 Wagner G/F 51 Aban, Aaron 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1982-04-08 Letran	Head coach Norman Black (Saint Joseph's) Assistant coach(es) Alexander Arespacochaga (Ateneo) Gene Afable (Ateneo) Jong Uichico (De La Salle) Jamike Jarin Joshua Reyes Team manager Aboy Castro Legend (C) Team captain (CI) Commissioner's Cup Import (GI) Governors' Cup Import (EI) EASL Import (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (IN) Inactive (S) Suspended (R) Rookie Injured

Broadcast notes

Game	TV5 coverage			Fox Sports coverage
	Play-by-play	Analyst(s)	Courtside reporters	Play-by-play	Analyst(s)
Game 1	Magoo Marjon	Quinito Henson	Rizza Diaz	Mico Halili	Vince Hizon
Game 2	Mico Halili	Jason Webb	Apple David	Chiqui Reyes	Vince Hizon
Game 3	Charlie Cuna	Dominic Uy	Erika Padilla	Chiqui Reyes	Charles Tiu
Game 4	Magoo Marjon	Quinito Henson	Sel Guevara	Aaron Atayde	Charles Tiu

• Additional Game 4 crew:
  • Trophy presentation: James Velasquez
  • Dugout interviewer: Sel Guevara (only shown on the Cignal HD coverage)

References

1. "PBA shortens season schedule to accommodate Gilas Pilipinas in World Cup, Asian Games". InterAksyon.com. January 30, 2014. Archived from the original on March 1, 2014.
2. PBA games to be beamed in HD to Cignal subscribers beginning with Commissioner's Cup finals, Reuben Terrado, spin.ph, May 4, 2014
3. Lucky #13 for Talk 'N Text as Texters sweep Elasto Painters for finals berth, Job de Leon and Renee Fopalan, GMA News Online, May 2, 2014
4. Talk ‘N Text escapes GlobalPort to sweep Commissioner’s Cup elimination round Archived May 15, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , InterAksyon.com, April 22, 2014
5. Talk ‘N Text sweeps banged-up Rain or Shine to enter Commissioner’s Cup finals Archived May 7, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , InterAksyon.com, May 2, 2014
6. San Mig Coffee defeats Talk ‘N Text to win Commissioner’s Cup, third straight PBA title Archived May 18, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , InterAksyon.com, May 15, 2014
7. Talk 'N Text: The pain of defeat and the challenge of rising again, Naveen Ganglani, Rappler, May 17, 2014
8. Meralco tops San Mig Coffee, finishes Commissioner’s Cup elims with winning record Archived May 18, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , InterAksyon.com, April 14, 2014
9. Rain or Shine, Ginebra battle to avoid bottom playoff position; Alaska faces San Mig Coffee Archived May 26, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , InterAksyon.com, April 14, 2014
10. Alaska continues hot run in quarters, pushes San Mig Coffee to the brink Archived May 17, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , InterAksyon.com, April 21, 2014
11. San Mig Coffee ends Alaska’s title reign, punches return ticket to semis Archived May 31, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , InterAksyon.com, April 26, 2014
12. History versus hunger: San Mig Coffee, Air 21 open best-of-five semifinals series Archived May 17, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , InterAksyon.com, April 29, 2014
13. Air 21 continues surprising run with semis Game One victory over San Mig Coffee Archived May 17, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , InterAksyon.com, April 29, 2014
14. Air 21 shoots down San Mig Coffee, forces do-or-die Game Five Archived May 11, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , InterAksyon.com, May 5, 2014
15. San Mig Coffee pummels Air 21 in semis Game Five, sets up finals rematch with Talk ‘N Text Archived May 17, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , InterAksyon.com, May 7, 2014
16. Talk ‘N Text routs Ginebra to win 10th straight game, march into semis Archived May 17, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , InterAksyon.com, April 22, 2014
17. Before Talk N Text, Crispa and Alaska had a shot at historic conference sweep. Find out what happened, "By the Numbers" by Fidel Mangonon III, spin.ph, May 4, 2014
18. San Mig Coffee shatters Talk ‘N Text streak to draw first blood in finals Archived May 12, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , InterAksyon.com, May 9, 2014
19. Jayson Castro shines as Talk ‘N Text strikes back in Game Two against San Mig Coffee Archived May 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , InterAksyon.com, May 11, 2014
20. Big Game James shoots San Mig Coffee over Talk ‘N Text, one step away from title Archived May 17, 2014, at the Wayback Machine , InterAksyon.com, May 13, 2014

External links

• PBA official website