Yeng Guiao 3, Tim Cone 1

Uhm, hi Coach Tim. My name is Jonas.
Read the plaque. KTNXBYE.

At some point, you'd have to raise some concerns about San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone and his ability to bring out the best from his players. We know that he can coach the Xs and Os, we know that he can work wonders, but his Rain or Shine counterpart Yeng Guiao sure as hell is making him look amateur-ish this series.

There's the over-reliance on his starters, failing to draw up any other play for any other guy who just so happens to be open on the floor. The ball movement is slow and predictable, the offense is always run through 1) James Yap 2) PJ Simon 3) Mark Barroca and that's pretty much it. Joe DeVance is there, but he only gets his touches when he's the one bringing the ball up (have to give the man props for trooping to the paint, but still). Where's JC Intal? Where's the bench-- they still have guys that can contribute beginning with the returning Jonas Villanueva, big man Yancy de Ocampo (who appears to have lost whatever hard-earned confidence Cone had in him early this Philippine Cup), rookie Aldrech Ramos and Wesley Gonzales.

Hate to say this, but the Mixers look predictable. Almost like the San Miguel Beermen team of the 90s led by Nelson Asaytono. They have a gunner, will go exclusively to him, and a second and third scorer-- but after that, there's noone left. Not because they don't have the talent (they're still the deeper team on paper), but because they just don't have the confidence to run anything for anyone.

On the other side, the Elastopainters' constant shuffling of their rotation (TY Tang started tonight! Maybe Jonathan Uyloan will finish the Mixers off on Saturday. Lol.) is reminiscent of today's basketball scene. Balanced scoring, making the most of the players on the hard court and the trust built by having won and lost together. Truly, this team (along with the Talk 'n' Text Tropang Texters) play a lot like European teams (Texters being closer, while the Elastopainters are the more "streetball-ish" version).

Can the Mixers rise and force another game?

Yes. They have the guys to do it. Talent beats team from time to time as proven by James Yap's 34 point eruption in Game 2. The spacing must be better, Barroca needs to play more like a point guard. They need some balance. Really, Barroca's contributing by putting up the points-- but his team needs someone to call plays and set it up.

There's Villanueva. Making a cameo early before hitting the bench. We don't care about the dengue and injuries, it's pretty clear that in his 4th conference under Coach Cone, he's being buried for some reason. A legit PBA Finals MVP, being buried and wasted on the bench by one of the game's best minds. SMH.

Villanueva won't score on Paul Lee, hell, he might even have problems versus Chris Tiu's defense, but he will orchestrate. He will put Yap on one side of the floor and Simon on the other. DeVance won't have to keep calling his own number and can just worry about getting proper positioning down low. You can argue that we're giving Villanueva way too much credit, but we've seen this guy play before. He's not a speedster or flashy, big time scorer. He knows how to direct, so why can't his team find minutes for him?

See the inset photo above?

'nuff said.

If the Mixers can't get anything out of both Yap and Simon, and get a third scorer that can spread the floor even more--- and have their bigs commit to rebounding, well, then you can end this series as early as Saturday (Monday latest).