PBA: San Mig Coffee survives another close encounter, as Yap out-duels Miller

(Updated 8:21pm) The San Mig Coffee Mixers figured in another close game, but this time, there were no rule controversies to cloud their victory. Marc Pingris and James Yap helped the Mixers come to life in the fourth quarter, to trump the GlobalPort Batang Pier 82-78, Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, to force a three-way tie for second place in the standings of the 2012-13 Philippine Cup. San Mig Coffee, Alaska and Rain or Shine now all share the same 4-2 record, trailing undefeated 6-0 Talk 'N Text. GlobalPort on the other hand, suffered another three-game losing streak to fall to 1-6. “The records of Barako and Global do not reflect the way they are playing or the way they are being coached,” said San Mig head coach Time Cone.  “You can’t just show up and play because there’s nothing easy in this league. Look at our wins, they’ve all been tough. Look at the wins of Talk ‘N Text and Rain or Shine. Those were tough too.” GlobalPort entered the fourth period up 58-50, but some ferocious play from big man Marc Pingris put the San Mig Coffee Mixers out ahead, 68-67, on a pair of free throws. Rookie Jason Deutchan sank a jumper in response to swing things back in favor of GlobalPort, but that was when Yap awoke, after going scoreless in the second and third quarters. The two-time MVP quickly strung together a 7-2 run, capped with a fadeaway shot to put his team ahead, 75-71. Miller however, himself a two-time league MVP as well, answered wit ha lay-up and a three to tilt the balance back to the Batang Pier, 76-75. Yap then scored off a step-back mover ove Mark Yee, only to be answered by a 2-of-4 clip from the foul line by Miller. But the San Mig star had the last say, connecting with a shot with 38.8 seconds left for the go-ahead score, 79-78. Mark Barroca then sealed the deal for the Mixers with three charities, to eke out another win, following a victory over the Barako Bull Energy Cola last Sunday that put the league's goaltending rules in the spotlight. GlobalPort gave San Mig fits in the third quarter when they fielded in a small lineup with Will Antonio and Vic Manuel playing the power forward and center positions. They sped up the game and relied on Mark Yee’s rebounding to get some separation. An Antonio basket at the 8:31 mark of the third gave GlobalPort their biggest lead of the game at 47-32. “Coach Capacio did a great job of forcing us to match down with him,” said Cone. “We had to take Yancy off the floor because he could not keep the pace of the game.” Cone countered by inserting Joe Devance and unleashing the returning Marc Pingris, in his second game back after missing two with a foot injury. The duo did wonders for the Mixers as they had the quickness to keep up with the smaller GlobalPort players and the strength to score down low. Pingris was also tasked to shadow Miller down the stretch. “He is the best defender in the league,” said Cone about Pingris. “Ping gets excited about defensive match-ups. He tends to coast when he does not respect the player he’s guarding so I decided to assign him to Miller.” Pingris led San Mig’s run in the third and fourth quarter by scoring all of his 17 points in the second half. Devance added 11 points, 4 rebounds, and four assists. GlobalPort had a chance to win the game down the stretch but Manuel missed a shot down low, coming from a pass by Al Vergara that was nearly picked off. Manuel made another good account of himself with 17 points to support Miller's 19 markers. Both players also grabbed 10 rebounds each. Looking forward to the big game against Ginebra this Sunday, Cone wants his team to share the ball better. “I wish we could be a little bit smoother, move the ball better,” he said “We are not getting assists like we used to earlier in the season.” The Mixers only had 15 assists in this game, a far cry from their 20.4 conference average. - AMD, GMA News The scores: SAN MIG COFFEE 82 - Pingris 17, Yap 16, Simon 15, Barroca 11, Devance 11, De Ocampo 4, Ramos 2, Villanueva 2, Gonzales 2, Reavis 2 GLOBALPORT 78 - Miller 19, Manuel 17, Deutchman 7, Antonio 7, Mandani 6, Guevarra 6, Vanlandingham 5, Adducul 4, Vergara 3, Al-Hussaini 2, Yee 2, Cruz 0 Quarter scoring: 13-19, 30-38, 50-58, 82-78