The once untouchable record for the most number of titles won by a coach has just been matched.
American head coach Tim Cone joined Baby Dalupan on the pinnacle of coaching success as he steered the San Mig Coffee Mixers to an 87-77 win over the Petron Blaze Boosters to cop the 38th PBA Governors’ Cup title last night at the Araneta Coliseum.
Cone pocketed his 15th title as a coach, tying the record of Dalupan, the man he looked up to.
“It’s just humbling to tie someone whom I idolized,” said Cone, who won his second title with San Mig. He won his first 13 titles with the Alaska Aces.
Marc Pingris stood his ground against the six-foot-11 Cebuano center June Mar Fajardo, dominating the paint for the Mixers to finish with 19 points, 17 rebounds and five blocked shots.
Pingris was eventually named the Finals Most Valuable Player.
The two teams fought closely from the start, forcing seven ties and several lead changes in the first half alone.
It was still a close battle in the second until the Mixers came up with a crucial offensive spurt that paved the way for their 10th crown in 24 finals appearances.
Nursing a slim 67-65 lead, the Mixers uncorked seven straight points to erect a 74-65 lead with 8:06 left.
San Mig’s lead was reduced to three in the final 1:37, 77-80, but the Coffee Mixers tightened the defensive crews as they did not allow the Blazers to score from that point on to ice the win pulling away.
Ellijah Millsap finished with a game-high 25 points but committed three turnovers in that Petron drought.
It was a disappointing finish for the Boosters, who was the number one seed in the playoffs following a magnificent run in the elimination round where they lost just once in 10 outings.
Marqus Blakely also finished with 19 markers for San Mig, while Peter June Simon, Joe Devance and Mark Barroca added 16, 11 and 10 markers, respectively.
Fajardo backed Millsap with 20 points while Marcio Lassiter tallied 11. Season MVP Arwind Santos had another dismal outing after settling for just seven markers.
BOX SCORES
SAN MIG (87)- Blakely 19, Pingris 19, Simon 16, Devance 11, Barroca 10, Yap 8, Mallari 2, De Ocampo 2.
PETRON (77)- Millsap 25, Fajardo 20, Lassiter 11, Cabagnot 8, Santos 7, Lutz 4, Kramer 2, Deutchman 0, Tubid 0.QUARTERSCORES: 19-19, 41-39, 65-61, 87-77.