Barako Bull stuns Globalport in overtime

The lowliest teams in the last PBA Philippine Cup came up with quite a show Sunday night, with Barako Bull — depleted and all — completing a comeback to remember over Globalport.
The Energy overhauled a 10-point deficit in the final two minutes of regulation before pulling away in overtime for a 98-88 victory over the Batang Pier at the Araneta Coliseum, which meant the solo lead in the Commissioner’s Cup eliminations.
Rajko Toroman, the Serbian former national team coach whose title as Barako Bull consultant belies the way he is seen calling the shots, described their second straight win as a “miracle.” “It was a miracle that we won this game,” Toroman, who celebrated his 58th birthday yesterday, told scribes after his wards had stared at a 76-86 deficit heading into the final three minutes after Gary David connected on a layup for Globalport.
Barako Bull got 25 points and 18 rebounds from Evan Brock and 24 points from starting point guard Josh Urbiztondo, who tossed in 11 of his total in the fourth quarter to fuel the Energy’s swashbuckling finish.
Danny Seigle was also big, shooting the first five points of overtime before the rest of the Barako Bull lineup held Globalport to just two points in total in the final seven minutes of the contest.
Globalport threw away numerous chances of putting the game away in regulation, going scoreless in the final two minutes. The next basket for the Batang Pier came with 3:08 remaining in extension, but they would never score again after that.
The Batang Pier were in command for most of the match, thanks largely in part to Japeth Aguilar, who scored 23 points and had 10 rebounds in a splendid followup to his performance Friday night in a 94-92 win over powerhouse Petron Blaze.
But Toroman downplayed his former national player Aguilar’s big game, saying that it was a pre-game plan to let the 6-foot-9 beanpole have a big night.
“Our plan before the game was not to give penetrations to Sol Mercado and outside shots to Gary David and Willie Miller,” Toroman said. “We let Japeth shoot the ball. That was part of our strategy before the game.
“For us, it was more important to contain (David, Miller and Mercado),” he went on. “I think that was their strength.” Mercado had a career-high 16 assists and 19 points like David. Miller, the former two-time MVP, was held down to just seven markers in 37 minutes.
Justin Williams, the Globalport import, had 12 points and a season-high 27 boards. But he, too, was missing in the final seven minutes when the Batang Pier sorely needed a basket to put the game away.
“We showed character and I think the best days for us are coming,” Toroman said, referring to some of his returning players who have been out because of various injuries like JC Intal.
Intal, the former Ginebra and San Mig Coffee forward, is slated to return against his former squad the Gin Kings on Friday.
Incidentally, Ginebra also got off to a rocky start, bowing to Air21, 74-70, later in the night.
Michael Dunigan led the Express with 26 points and 19 rebounds, playing according to pre-tournament hype as the possible yardstick among all reinforcements in this tournament.
“It’s always a nice feeling beating a team like Ginebra, with their star-studded lineup.” Air21 coach Franz Pumaren said. “Man-for-man I think we are the weakest team in terms of local lineup. We won by playing good defense.”
John Wilson and Mike Cortez each had 13 points for the Express, the eighth-placers in the Philippine Cup, while Mark Caguioa, the reigning MVP, paced the Kings with 26 points.
Ginebra import Herbert Hill scored 17 points and had 18 rebounds, but he was 0-10 in the first half where he scored only two points.