PBA: Pingris won't let San Mig lose to Alaska

San Mig Coffee Mixer Marc Pingris stood toe-to-toe with Meralco Bolts import Eric Dawson in the fourth quarter of their win-or-go-home game, during the two teams' 2013 PBA Commissioner's Cup quarterfinals series. Dawson, the most potent scorer in the Commissioner’s Cup, drove to his right and Pingris met him there. The American giant crossed over to his left but Pingris stayed right on his face. Finally, Dawson stepped back and launched a jumper. Pingris gathered, leapt forward, and attempted the impossible. He tried to block a Dawson fadeaway J. Pingris failed. Dawson’s shot flew about four inches above Pingris’s outstretched fingertips. But he bothered Dawson enough to make him miss the shot.

The game was tied at 79-all. That one stop was crucial. Without Pingris to grab the rebound after the Dawson miss, the Bolts secured an offensive rebound. The ball went back to Dawson but Pingris stayed with him. Meralco’s shot clock was running down when Dawson threw out an emergency pass as he could not shake off his pesky defender. The ball found its way to Chris Ross who nailed a three-point basket just as their shot clock expired. The shoulders of Pingris sagged after seeing the shot fall. He played tremendous defense on Dawson for 47 seconds but his team failed to get a stop. The game clock read 8:02. The Mixers had that much time to overcome Meralco’s lead and build one of their own, or their reign as Commissioner’s Cup champions will come to an abrupt end. Tired, dejected, and now behind, Pingris jogged back to the other side. The tide started to favor the Bolts, which made this San Mig possession doubly important. A basket would keep the game close. A miss could turn the momentum completely to Meralco’s favor. Denzel Bowles posted up, turned to his right and shot a lay-up. May kasama pang foul. Seeing this, Pingris punched the air in celebration. He knew he had done his job. “Sinabihan ko si Denzel na ako na muna yung kukuha kay Dawson kahit isang possession lang kasi nakikitang kong pagod na siya,” Pingris said. “Pero nung napigilan ko siya, sabi ko kay Denzel ‘one more,’ tapos napigilan ko ulit, kaya ako na muna yung bumantay sa kanya.” In their quarterfinals series against the Meralco Bolts, Pingris defended anyone from Chris Ross to Mac Cardona to Reynel Hugantan. But for the last game of the series, for what could have been the last game of their drive to defend their Commissioner’s Cup crown, Pingris took on the biggest challenge of the game. He stepped up to defend Dawson. Meralco’s import and the leading candidate to win the Best Import of the Conference award crumbled. His team scored a measly seven points in the quarter while Pingris scored eight by himself in the same period. "I hate to say this now but Ping actually defied me," admitted San Mig Coffee head coach Tim Cone. "He was only supposed to guard Dawson for one possession. I gave him the worst look I could give him but he did it anyway.” “It was a really good coaching decision by Marc Pingris," Cone said at the press conference after the game. A few days earlier, Pingris sat on a white chair after their last elimination round game against Air21. The therapist was treating his sprained ankle with a laser. The San Mig Coffee forward did not know if he would be able to play in the quarterfinals. But you can’t tell Marc Pingris to take it easy. You can’t tell him to rest until he's 100 percent healthy. He knows how important the then-upcoming game was and how important he is to his team. Pingris anchored the San Mig Coffee defense that held down the Bolts to zero points on 0-of-11 shooting from the field in the final 8:02 of the game. “Nung RP team ako kahit nung PBL, opensa talaga ako,” shared Pingris. “Pero nagbago yung pananaw ko sa laro nung nasali ako sa Air21, kasi may isang player doon na nagturo sa akin kung paano talaga dumepensa.” That player is none other than Jerry Codinera, the Purefoods legend and the Defense Minister of the PBA. “Si Jerry tinutukan niya talaga ako sa practice, tinuturuan niya ako kung paano ko dapat igalaw yung mga paa ko at paano talaga dumepensa,” he said. “Dun nagbago yung pananaw ko ba basketball kasi dun ko na-realize na mas madali ang dumepensa.” Ninety-nine percent of people who ever picked up a basketball would disagree with Pingris. Throwing up shots is a breeze compared to stopping someone from doing the same. But for Pingris, it is this unpopular mindset that made him the defensive player that he is today. Now, Pingris and his Mixers will take one a much tougher challenge. Up next is a match-up with an old foe, the Alaska Aces. Even though the Aces have yet to defeat the Mixers with Cone at the helm, the law of averages is sure to catch up with them sooner or later. The Aces dominated the elimination round and are the most balanced team in the league. Their bench may not have a lot of big names but each player knows what his role is. James Yap, San Mig Coffee's superstar, is also questionable for the semifinals. But even if the odds are stacked against them, the San Mig Coffee faithful have complete belief that the Mixers will pull through because Pingris will refuse to lose. Pingris will again resume the role of defensive stopper against the Aces. He'll surely be matched up against Calvin Abueva and Gabby Espinas. He may also try to stop Robert Dozier. And who knows? Maybe coach Cone will employ an old Purefoods trick used against his Aces before by sticking Pingris to Jvee Casio and the other Alaska point guards. The only sure thing is that Pingris will guard whoever needs to be guarded and he does it in the purest way possible. No excessively hard fouls. No dirty tactics. Definitely no flopping. After playing to the point of exhaustion against the Bolts, Pingris had nothing left in the post game interview. He choked up with tears welling in his eyes. He gathered and walked away from the interview, soaking in the cheers from an adoring San Mig crowd. James Yap might not play all the games in the semifinals. Denzel Bowles might not be as good as he was last year. Alex Mallari and Mark Barroca may not be as ready as vets Josh Urbiztondo and Jonas Villanueva. But one thing is for sure, as long as Marc Pingris is wearing a San Mig Coffee jersey, the Mixers will always have a shot at winning, no matter how long the odds are. "Mahihirapan silang kunin sa amin ito," Pingris said. "Di naman kami basta-basta magpapatalo." - RAF, GMA News