Alvin Patrimonio, San Mig Coffee give warm welcome to honest airport worker

Rey Joble, InterAKTV · Friday, November 23, 2012 · 7:29 pm

PBA/Nuki Sabio

Ronald Gadayan grew up watching Alvin Patrimonio star for the Purefoods franchise.
A building attendant at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, Gadayan was in the headlines a couple of months ago after returning cash and other valuables worth P1.8 million.
“Ang turo po ng aking magulang ay wag kunin ang bagay na hindi sa iyo. Lumaki po akong naghihikahos, pero kailan man hindi ko pinag-interesan ang mga bagay na napupulot ko sa trabaho,” said Gadayan then.
On Friday, Gadayan got a bit of a reward for his honesty as the San Mig Coffee Mixers welcomed him and his family to the SMART-Araneta Coliseum with a courtside seat for their match against the Air 21 Express.
Gadayan even met his childhood hero, Alvin Patrimonio, who now serves as the Mixers’ team manager.
“He’s my hero,” Patrimonio told InterAKTV in an exclusive interview. “What he did was a good virtue. It’s nice to see have someone like him, who fortunately is a diehard fan of Purefoods/San Mig Coffee. We’re honored to have him.”
San Mig Coffee team executive Rene Pardo said the small gesture from the team was a no-brainer to honor the honest man.
“I told him na bihira na yang mga ganyang tao ngayon. Masaya ako to have him and we’re also proud to have a die-hard fan like him. He’s a modern day hero,” said Pardo.

source: http://www.interaksyon.com/interaktv/alvin-patrimonio-san-mig-coffee-give-warm-welcome-to-honest-airport-worker

At San Mig Coffee, Tim Cone demands defensive commitment from top guns Yap, Simon

Rey Joble, InterAKTV · Friday, November 23, 2012 · 10:37 pm

AKTV/Paul Ryan Tan

San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone has been associated with the triangle offense, but ask the coach and he would proudly claim that he does his best work on the defensive end.
And when he took over the Purefoods franchise last season, he wanted to instill a culture of defensive commitment across the roster.
“When we first came in, our main objective is to turn this team into a defensive unit,” Cone told InterAKTV.
That included getting the team’s top guns James Yap and Peter June Simon, who were known almost as much for their lackluster defense as their scoring prowess, to buy into his system on defense.
“We never had a problem with these two players learning our defensive schemes. Other star players may have problems committing themselves to defense, but James and PJ are two very coachable players willing to do things defensively.”
After 11 games, San Mig Coffee has remained the league’s top defensive team.
“There’s no real secret about how we do things. It’s more about the fundamentals and attention to details. When we say fundamentals, it’s about staying low defensively, what to do with player on the ball and player without the ball,” said Cone
“When James and PJ learned that they need to defend in order for us to win, they themselves committed to defense. I think the two players are far better defensively than the first time we handled them more than a year ago.”
Assistant coach Jeffrey Cariaso said it’s all about commitment for the two stars.
“They committed themselves to defense, including James, the star of the team. He’s my barometer. He may not be the real stopper, but he has definitely improved defensively. If there’s one thing I’m really proud of in more than a year we’ve been in this team, it’s our improvement on defense,” said Cariaso, a renowned stopper during his playing career, when he was named to the All-Defensive team as a member of four different PBA squads.
“But you need to work on it every practice because there’s a tendency for them to go back at the old habits.”
Against Air 21 Friday night, the Mixers clamped down on defense late, holding the Express scoreless in a four-minute stretch to preserve the win.
But Cone has the luxury of a defensive ace up his sleeve in Marc Pingris, whom he could turn to in just about any situation.
“Obviously, he’s our secret weapon. He can guard all players we want him to defend. He can guard a point guard, a shooter, a power forward and a center. Whenever there’s trouble on defense, we count on Ping,” added Cone.

source: http://www.interaksyon.com/interaktv/at-san-mig-coffee-tim-cone-demands-defensive-commitment-from-top-guns-yap-simon

Big Game James, ‘Coffee Prince’ Barroca lead San Mig Coffee to bounce-back win over Air 21 via AKTV

Rey Joble, InterAKTV · Friday, November 23, 2012 · 9:53 pm

PBA/Nuki Sabio

Photo Courtesy of Hael Pinat

The San Mig Coffee Mixers bounced back from an embarrassing loss with a solid win over the Air 21 Express, 89-80, Friday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
James Yap scored 16 of his 20 points in the first half, while Mark Barroca added 12 points, five rebounds, and two assists for the Mixers, who were coming off a 29-point loss to Talk ‘N Text last Wednesday.
“It’s a good bounce-back game for us. We got embarrassed big time, and we figured it will be difficult to recover from a loss like that. It’s harder for management, fans, and coaches. But a 30-point loss is the same as one-point loss. We were concerned about how we’re going to respond,” said Cone.
“We didn’t have time to dwell about the loss to Talk ‘N Text because we’re up against Air 21. We used the loss to Talk ‘N Text as a way to propel us, just like what we did when we lost to Powerade, which led us eventually to winning the Commissioner’s Cup last season.”
Up by only six points following KG Canaleta’s basket, 82-76, San Mig Coffee tightened its screws on Air 21 to end the match.
No Air 21 player was able to score until Mark Isip hit a garbage basket with only 23.9 seconds to go and San Mig Coffee up by 13 point, 89-76.
Jonas Villanueva chipped in 11 points and Rafi Reavis contributed 10 for the Mixers, who forged a tie for second spot with Rain or Shine at 8-3.
Air 21 suffered its second straight loss and seventh in 11 games.
The scores:
SAN MIG COFFEE 89 – Yap 20, Barroca 12, Villanueva 11, Reavis 10, Simon 9, Pingris 8, Devance 7, Intal 6, De Ocampo 6, Gonzales 0.
AIR 21 80 – Canaleta 18, Sena 10, Isip 10, Cortez 9, Wilson 8, Custodio 8, Reyes 7, Ritualo 6, Baclao 4, Atkins 0, Arboleda 0.
Quarters: 25-21, 51-45, 73-66, 89-80

source: http://www.interaksyon.com/interaktv/big-game-james-coffee-prince-barroca-lead-san-mig-coffee-to-bounce-back-win-over-air-21