San Mig tops Ginebra in crucial PBA Governors’ Cup game

Despite playing minus two key big men, a very determined San Mig Coffee crew hammered Barangay Ginebra in the stretch on Sunday night and put the Gin Kings on very shaky ground in the PBA Governors’ Cup.
Marc Barroca came off the bench and drained two crucial jumpers in a 28-second span to key an 89-86 decision of the Kings before the tournament’s biggest crowd of just over 15,000 boisterous fans at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
The win was just the third in six games overall for the Mixers, the runners-up here last season, and it got them right in the thick of the playoff fight for the season-ending tournament.
But the same could not be said of Ginebra, which took a fourth loss also in six outings to drop into a tie for eighth place with Globalport and be on cliff’s edge heading into the final two weeks of the elimination round.
Only two of the 10 teams will get the boot after a single round robin, and Ginebra would need to win basically its last three games to have a solid shot at advancing.
“It was almost a must-win game for both of us,” San Mig coach Tim Cone told scribes moments after the highwire win. “We battled for that one and we came out on top. But that game could have been either way.”
San Mig was without Marc Pingris and Joe Devance, who were both serving suspensions, while Ginebra continued to be without the injured Japeth Aguilar and Kerby Raymundo.
Devance will return on Tuesday when the Mixers battle Alaska, while Pingris will be out for another game after being canned on Friday for trading punches with Globalport rookie Kelly Nabong last Wednesday.
“We would have liked to play with a complete team, but my guys stepped up (tonight),” Cone continued. “Yancy (De Ocampo) and Rafi (Reavis) did a yeoman’s job on (Ginebra import Dior) Lowhorn.
“And I thought Marc (Barroca) did a great job on the backcourt. He was steady all night. We played really good defense, I thought.”
So tough was the San Mig defense that it did not allow reigning MVP Mark Caguioa to score a single field goal. Caguioa finished with just six free throws and Ginebra only had two players – Lowhorn and LA Tenorio – finishing in twin digits.
The loss was painful for the Kings simply because they opened up with 12 unanswered points and even took a 14-point bubble in the first period.
But the Mixers got back into the game just as quick and were in control for the entire second half, even taking a 76-67 edge going into the final 8:50 after a De Ocampo basket underneath.
Former two-time MVP James Yap won out in his personal slugfest with reigning MVP Caguioa, finishing with 19 points and nine rebounds to be the prime candidate for the Player of the Week award.
Yap was also the chief defender that Cone threw on Caguioa, and his efforts didn’t escape the eyes of the multi-titled mentor.
“Probably the best defensive player on the court for us tonight was James Yap,” Cone said. “He guarded Caguioa tonight and he did a tremendous job. I am really, really proud of him. I think he has taken the challenge (defensively).”
Caguioa was 0-for-11 from the field in 33 minutes.
Yap also had a crucial jumper that came after two airball attempts from three-point range which made it 81-75 going into the final 3:38.
Ginebra threatened to within two twice, the last at 83-85 after the last two of Caguioa’s free throws, before Barroca drained the second of those jumpers from basically the same spot for 87-83 with 1:26 left.
Marqus Blakely then sprinted downcourt after a Mac Baracael miss for the Kings and rammed in a right-handed tomahawk dunk that sealed the deal for the Mixers, 89-83 with just 69 second left on the clock.
Meanwhile, Barako Bull all but clinched a seat in the playoffs earlier after rallying for a 98-97 win over hardluck Globalport.
“I have to admit, we were very lucky today,” Barako Bull coach Rajko Toroman said after his Energy erased an 18-point third quarter deficit.
“Globalport was the better team for three quarters,” he continued after rising to 4-2 and tying idle Meralco in second, just a full game behind the pace-setting 5-1 record of Petron Blaze.
(But) we didn’t stop to play and we played well only in the fourth quarter.”
Mark Singletary scored 27 of his 43 points in the second half and the veteran Danny Seigle dropped all 10 of his points in the fourth to spell the difference.
Markeith Cummings led the Batang Pier with 40, but was held to just four points in the fourth quarter.