SAN MIG COFFEE TOPPLES GINEBRA, CREATES 5-TEAM LOGJAM AT 5TH
Frustrated by how things were going before the year 2013 ended, Marc Pingris vowed to the legions of San Mig Super Coffee fans, “Makakabawi kami.” And bounce back they did as the Super Coffee Mixers toppled mighty Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 83-79, in the 2014 PLDT myDSL PBA Philippine Cup Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Banking on the collective efforts of Mark Barroca, Peter June Simon, James Yap, and Pingris, San Mig forced a five-way tie at fifth spot with a 4-7 card, alongside Barako Bull, Meralco, Alaska, and GlobalPort.
“That game gave us a little bit of life. It kept us alive in the conference and making the top six, and at the very worse, the top eight,” said San Mig coach Tim Cone. “We had to stay alive this conference and it was really a must win.”
Barroca had a complete game with 16 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and three steals, while Simon had 15 markers, eight of which coming in the third period where San Mig Coffee kept Ginebra at bay.
Pingris added 12 points and seven boards, while James Yap finished with a double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds as the Mixers snapped a two-game losing skid.
“We’ve got contributions from everybody. That’s what we’re looking for and searching for the whole conference,” Cone said. “We could’ve played this well the whole conference, but as they say, better late than never.”
In front of a record crowd of 20,596 inside the Mall of Asia Arena, the Coffee Mixers stormed ahead and built leads of as big as 18 numerous times in the second quarter.
But Ginebra came roaring back courtesy of a 31-point third quarter anchored on Japeth Aguilar. The Kings even grabbed the lead early in the fourth, 68-67, after a Jay-R Reyes bucket.
That was to be their last hurrah howeelver, as San Mig averted a collapse with Barroca and Pingris presiding over a final salvo that gave the Mixers an 80-73 lead that they never relinquished.
“Its been a tough road for us and its really been more 80 percent mental and 20 percent physical,” Cone said. “Its just getting our minds on the right path, forward-looking, and staying in the moment.”
He added, “We have beaten ourselves up in the past few games and in the past few weeks. A lot of negativity got put behind us. We got to our things early which built our confidence, and today, we pulled out a win against a good Ginebra squad.”
Aguilar finished with 26 points, seven rebounds, and six blocks for Ginebra, which fell to 9-2 but still good enough to hold on to top spot.
Slaughter added 14 points and six boards. (RLeongson)
The Scores:
SAN MIG COFFEE 83 – Barroca 16, Simon 15, Pingris 12, Yap 12, de Ocampo 9, Reavis 8, Devance 7, Sangalang 4, Mallari 0, Melton 0.
GINEBRA 79 – Aguilar 26, Slaughter 14, Tenorio 13, Baracael 12, Ellis 9, Monfort 3, Reyes 2, Ababou 0, Helterbrand 0, Urbiztondo 0, Caguioa 0. Quarters: 25-15, 48-35, 65-66, 83-79.
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