The 2014 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner's Cup Finals was the best-of-5 championship series of the

2014 PBA Commissioner's Cup The 2014 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner's Cup, also known as the 2014 PLDT Home TVolution-PBA Commissioner's Cup for sponsorship reasons, was the second conference of the 2013–14 PBA season. The tournament started on Ma ...

, and the conclusion of the conference's playoffs. The

Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters The TNT (cellular service), TNT Tropang Giga is a professional basketball team currently owned by Smart Communications, a subsidiary of the PLDT, Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), playing in the Philippine Basketball Associat ...

and the San Mig Super Coffee competed for the 14th Commissioner's Cup championship and the 111th overall championship contested by the league. This championship was also the first PBA finals series that aired in

high-definition television High-definition television (HD or HDTV) describes a television system which provides a substantially higher image resolution than the previous generation of technologies. The term has been used since 1936; in more recent times, it refers to the g ...

for

Cignal Digital TV Cignal (pronounced as ''signal'') is a Philippine satellite television and IPTV provider, owned by Cignal TV Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the MediaQuest Holdings Inc. under the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund. Cignal's prepaid electronic ...

subscribers. Prior the finals series, Talk 'N Text had a 13-0 record, sweeping both the elimination (nine games)Talk ‘N Text escapes GlobalPort to sweep Commissioner’s Cup elimination round
, InterAksyon.com, April 22, 2014 and playoff (four games) rounds.Talk ‘N Text sweeps banged-up Rain or Shine to enter Commissioner’s Cup finals
, InterAksyon.com, May 2, 2014 San Mig Super Coffee however won the championship after defeating Talk 'N Text in their finals series, 3-1.San Mig Coffee defeats Talk ‘N Text to win Commissioner’s Cup, third straight PBA title
, InterAksyon.com, May 15, 2014

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. Alaska won the first game, 86-77 and was on verge of eliminating San Mig Coffee. The Mixers managed to win the next two games to advance to the semifinal round against Air21 Express, an unexpected semifinalist after they had eliminated the second seeded

San Miguel Beermen The San Miguel Beermen are a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). It is one of three PBA clubs owned by the San Miguel Corporation group of companies along with the Magnolia Hotshots and Barangay Ginebra ...

, who had a twice-to-beat advantage. Led by the 41-year-old

Asi Taulava Pauliasi Taulava (born March 2, 1973) is a Tongan-born Filipino professional basketball player for the NLEX Road Warriors of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He is the oldest active player in the league. Standing 6 ft 9 in (2 ...

, they won the first game against the Mixers, 103-100. 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. Game 5 was eventually won by the Mixers, 99-83.

Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters

After missing the semifinal round in the previous conference, Talk 'N Text swept the elimination round, becoming the first team since the 1990

Presto Tivolis Presto may refer to: Computing * Presto (browser engine), an engine previously used in the Opera web browser * Presto (operating system), a Linux-based OS by Xandros * Presto (SQL query engine), a distributed query engine * Presto (animation s ...

to become undefeated in the eliminations, which the Tivolis did in the

1990 PBA All-Filipino Conference The 1990 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) All-Filipino Conference was the second conference of the 1990 PBA season. It started on June 10 and ended on September 4, 1990. The tournament is an All-Filipino format, which doesn't require an imp ...

. The Tropang Texters gained the top seed and a twice-to-beat advantage against

Barangay Ginebra San Miguel The Barangay Ginebra San Miguel is a professional basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). The most popular team in the league, it is owned by Ginebra San Miguel, Inc. (formerly, La Tondeña Distillers, Inc.), a subsidia ...

. They easily defeated Barangay Ginebra, 97–84, in the quarterfinals and went on to face third seeded Rain or Shine in the semifinals. Talk 'N Text swept Rain or Shine in three games. This achievement gave them a chance to completely sweep the tournament, which was nearly achieved by the 1980

Crispa Redmanizers The Crispa Redmanizers were a multi-titled Filipino basketball team that played in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) from 1975 to 1984. It was one of the nine founding teams of the PBA, winning a total of thirteen PBA championships, i ...

, who finished 20-1 in the tournament, after they were defeated by the

Toyota Super Corollas The Toyota Super Corollas were a multi-titled basketball team in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) from 1975 PBA season, 1975 to 1983 PBA season, 1983. Founded in 1973 by businessman and sportsman Dante Silverio, the team - formally na ...

in Game 3 of the

1980 PBA All-Filipino Conference Finals The 1980 PBA season, 1980 PBA All-Filipino Conference Finals was the Playoff format#Best-of-five playoff, best-of-5 basketball championship series of the 1980 PBA All-Filipino Conference, and the conclusion of the conference's playoffs. The Crispa ...

Road to the finals

Head-to-head matchup

Series summary

Game 1

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.

Game 2

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 James Dixon Mays (born March 8, 1986) is an American-born naturalized Central African professional basketball player for Shandong Heroes of the Chinese Basketball Association. He represented the Central African Republic at the 2011 FIBA Africa Ch ...

, 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.

Game 3

Game 3 was different for both squads, as the game went close up to the last minutes of the game. With

Jimmy Alapag Jim Olmedo Alapag (born December 30, 1977) is a Filipino-American former professional basketball player. He serves as an assistant coach for the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League. He is nicknamed "The Mighty Mouse" and "The Captain". Early lif ...

struggling, the Tropang Texters, led by

Jayson Castro Jayson Castro William (born June 30, 1986) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the TNT Tropang Giga of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). His moniker is "The Blur" for his speed. He played for the Philippine Christian Un ...

and

Ranidel De Ocampo Ranidel Rozal de Ocampo (born December 8, 1981) is a Filipino former professional basketball player and assistant coach for the TNT Tropang Giga of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He is the younger brother of Yancy de Ocampo where bo ...

, 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 James Carlos Agravante Yap Sr. (born February 15, 1982) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). Known by his nickname Big Game James, he had played for ...

, 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.Big Game James shoots San Mig Coffee over Talk ‘N Text, one step away from title
, InterAksyon.com, May 13, 2014

Game 4

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 Rommel Niño T. "KG" Canaleta (born February 12, 1982) is a Filipino professional basketball coach. He is currently the assistant coach for the Taichung Suns of the T1 League. He is also a former basketball player who played majority of his caree ...

drilled a three right before the buzzer sounded. A 16-0 run by the Mixers, led by rookie

Ian Sangalang Ian Paul Mendoza Sangalang (born December 20, 1991) is a Filipino professional basketball player for the Magnolia Hotshots of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). He was drafted 2nd overall by the Mixers in the 2013 PBA draft. Amateur ...

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 Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

, with

Marqus Blakely Marqus Austin Blakely (born October 22, 1988) is an American professional basketball player who is currently playing for the Kumamoto Volters of the B.League. He played college basketball for Vermont. College career Blakely gained a reputation a ...

as their import. James Yap was hailed Finals' MVP.

Rosters

{, class="toccolours" style="font-size: 95%; width: 100%;" , - ! colspan="2" style="background-color: #; color: #; text-align: center;" , Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters 2014 Commissioner's Cup roster , - style="background-color:#; color: #; text-align: center;" ! Players !! Coaches , - , valign="top" , {, class="sortable" style="background:transparent; margin:0px; width:100%;" ! Pos. !! # !! POB !! Name !! Height !! Weight !! !! College , - {, class="toccolours" style="font-size: 95%; width: 100%;" , - ! colspan="2" style="background-color: #; color: #; text-align: center;" , San Mig Super Coffee Mixers 2014 Commissioner's Cup roster , - style="background-color:#; color: #; text-align: center;" ! Players !! Coaches , - , valign="top" , {, class="sortable" style="background:transparent; margin:0px; width:100%;" ! Pos. !! # !! POB !! Name !! Height !! Weight !! !! College , -

Broadcast notes

{, class=wikitable , - !rowspan=2, Game !!colspan=3, TV5 coverage !!colspan=2,

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coverage , - !

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!! Analyst(s) !! Courtside reporters !!

!! Analyst(s) , - , Game 1 , ,

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, ,

Quinito Henson Joaquin M. Henson (born October 14, 1950), also known as Quinito Henson, is a Filipino sports analyst and television color commentator. His newspaper column, ''Sporting Chance'', has appeared in the ''Philippine Star'' since the 1980s. Self-dubb ...

, , Rizza Diaz , ,

Mico Halili Mico Halili is a Filipino sports television personality, sportscaster and sports journalist. He is best known as the lead sportscaster for the basketball games of the PBA and UAAP. In October 2020, he became the Creative Director for sports pro ...

, ,

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Jason Webb Jason Pagaspas Webb (born September 23, 1973) is a Filipino basketball coach and former basketball player. Playing career Webb played collegiate basketball for the De La Salle Green Archers from 1991 to 1995. After college, he played for St ...

, , Apple David , , Chiqui Reyes , ,

, - , Game 3 , , Charlie Cuna , , Dominic Uy , ,

Erika Padilla Erika Padilla (born November 22, 1986) is a Filipino actress, TV host, model and sideline reporter. Early life Padilla's father is General Ricardo Ilagan Padilla, a former regional director of Region 4 Calabarzon and the incumbent Mayor of Bong ...

, , Chiqui Reyes , ,

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, , Sel Guevara , ,

Aaron Atayde Aaron Joshua "Josh Strike" Atayde (born March 10, 1986) is a DJ, TV host, and sports anchor for ABS-CBN Sports' coverage of the UAAP. He is now sports anchor for UFL on AKTV and doing courtside reportage for PBA. Life and career Atayde is a son ...

, ,

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

References

External links

PBA official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Commissioner's Cup Finals, 2014

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

2013–14 PBA season TNT Tropang Giga games Magnolia Hotshots games PBA Commissioner's Cup Finals