PINGRIS WILLS SAN MIG COFFEE TO WIN
Marc Pingris scored 13 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to save San Mig Coffee from experiencing yet another sound beating and power his team to a hard-earned 90-88 win over Barako Bull Tuesday in the MyDSL PBA Philippine Cup at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
“Sinabihan kasi ako ni coach na kailangan maging aggressive ako sa opensa. Nung una kasi nakikita ko yung mga teammates ko na open kaya panay pasa ginagawa ko,” Pingris told pba.com.ph.
Pingris also made all his nine free throws in the payoff period and snared 11 rebounds in the game for another double-double performance, his third in the conference.
James Yap, who had been struggling using a protector on his right elbow, contributed 16 points and nine rebounds for the Coffee Mixers, who picked up only their second win in seven games and avoided what could’ve been a franchise worst-ever 7-game start in an all-Filipino tourney.
“Nahihirapan pa rin ako rito,” said Yap, referring to the elbow protection he’s been wearing for the second straight game. “Limited rin kasi nagagawa mo.”
Rookie Ian Sangalang added 15 points to match his career-high output while Mark Barroca and PJ Simon contributed 13 points apiece.
San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone felt relieved after the win and just like the first time, it came the hard way.
“It wasn’t supposed to be this hard to win, but it is,” said Cone, who watched Barako Bull dictate the tempo in the third period, leading 73-63, at one stretch.
In their game against Meralco last Wednesday, the Mixers squandered an 18-point lead and lost to their smaller rivals, who employed a stifling zone defense.
Against the Energy who dropped their fifth straight game after a 2-0 start, San Mig Coffee also encountered problems beating the zone.
“We’ve been facing zones the last couple of games. The zones are designed to take you away from your regular offense. Zones come in and they go out. Now they sprung a few surprises. Ginebra struggled against the zone, Petron struggled against the zone. We struggled against the zone. But the more you see the zone, the more you break it,” added Cone.
San Mig Coffee’s only other win in the conference was a 92-83 double OT decision over Air21 last Dec. 1. (RJ)
The scores:
SAN MIG COFFEE 90 – Pingris 16, Yap 16, Sangalang 15, Barroca 13, Simon 13, Devance 9, De Ocampo 3, Reavis 3, Cawaling 2, Mallari 0.
BARAKO BULL 88 -Intal 21, Miranda 14, Buenafe 12, Isip 10, Maierhofer 7, Miller 6, Pennisi 6, Jensen 4, Wilson 4, Lastimosa 2, Labagala 2, Marcelo 0.
Quarterscores: 24-19, 43-41, 58-66, 90-88
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