PBA: Bowles and Barroca combo give San Mig Coffee the win over Meralco

The big-small combination of import Denzel Bowles and point guard Mark Barroca made up for limited performances from James Yap and PJ Simon, plus a sidelined Marc Pingris, as the San Mig Coffee Mixers emerged triumphant, 97-90, over the Meralco Bolts, Saturday at the SM MOA Arena. The win put San Mig Coffee in solo third place with an 8-6 record, at the end of their Commissioner's Cup elimination round campaign. Meralco on the other hand slumped to 6-7, with a game left against current second-placers, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. In the first quarter, a triple by Mark Barroca and a Denzel Bowles free throw gave SMC a 20-13 lead, 2:30 remaining, but the Bolts eventually forged a 22-all deadlock at the start of the second, behind scores from Jay-R Reyes, Mark Borboran and Cliff Hodge, 10:35 left in the first half. The two teams went back-and-forth over the next few possessions, but five straight from Bowles created enough separation headed into the halftime break, 45-43. Meralco briefly took the lead at the start of the third, via a Ronjay Buenafe triple, 46-45. PJ Simon and Joe Devance stole it back however, 52-48, only for Reynel Hugnatan charities to pull the Bolts within a point, 52-51. Bowles and Simon then took over, and together with Devance and Barroca, the Mixers unleashed a 19-7 blast that saw SMC establish their biggest lead of the game, 71-58, with 4:45 remaining in the quarter. Meralco went to the Mark Cardona-Eric Dawson duo in response, and the two attacked the paint and got their side within four, 75-71. James Yap was there however to can a momentum-stopping triple, and then Denzel Bowles rounded out the third with a dunk. Armed with an 80-71 lead entering the fourth quarter, San Mig Coffee nevertheless saw their advantage slip away as a 9-3 Meralco run had them within three, 6:47 left to play, following an undergoal stab by Chris Ross. Momentum shifted however, as odd as it may seem, when Simon was knocked down to the ground by Cliff Hodge, while the latter was contesting an attempt. The "Scoring Apostle" split his charities for an 84-80 lead, before both players were pulled out of the game. After that however, Leo Najorda and Dawson exchanged scores, before an extended run triggered by a Devance triple, and highlighted by Bowles to Barroca and Barroca to Bowles connections swung the game definitively in SMC's favor. A long jumper by Barroca made it 97-86 with 27.4 seconds to go, but the Bolts got one last hurrah from Sunday Salvacion, who completed a four-point play to arrive at the final score. Barroca finished with 19 points, five rebounds, 10 assists and three steals, and was judged best player of the game. Denzel Bowles' mid-range jumper was falling, and he mixed it up with several dunks for 27 points, plus 17 rebounds and five swats. Joe Devance played the point-forward role to the hilt, with 18 points, three triples and six extra passes. PJ Simon scored 17 before his early exit, while James Yap dropped seven in just 14 minutes of action. Eric Dawson was the man for Meralco, finishing with 29 points and 13 rebounds. Mark Cardona fired in 20 off the bench, while Sunday Salvacion and Ronjay Buenafe combined for 19 points, albeit on 4-of-17 shooting from downtown. San Mig Coffee shot 50.7 percent from the floor, while holding Meralco to just 37.5 percent on field goals. This made up for seven more turnovers than the Bolts' 13 miscues. - Adrian Dy, GMA News The scores: SMC 97 - Bowles 27, Barroca 19, Devance 18, Simon 17, Yap 7, Mallari 3, Najorda 2, Reavis 2, De Ocampo 2, Ponferada 0, Alvarez 0, Gaco 0, Pacana 0, Gonzales 0. MERALCO 90 - Dawson 29, Cardona 20, Salvacion 10, Buenafe 9, Borboran 6, Reyes 5, Hugnatan 5, Hodge 4, Ross 2, Timberlake 0. Quarter scoring: 22-15, 45-43, 80-71, 97-90