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PBA: San Mig survives GlobalPort as Pingris, Nabong figure in fistfight
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San Mig's Marc Pingris (R) punches GlobalPort's Kelly Nabong (L) early in the third quarter. Paolo Papa
The San Mig Coffee Mixers held on for a 102-88 victory over GlobalPort Batang Pier, Wednesday at the Cuneta Astrdome, in a 2013 Governors' Cup game that will be remembered for the fight between Marc Pingris and Kelly Nabong.
As a result, the two teams wound up tying each other in the standings at 2-3.
"That was an eventful game. I'm worried we may have won the battle but lost the war," rued San Mig Coffee head coach Tim Cone.
"I may get in trouble for this. The referees lost control of the ball game. It happened three times and at one point the players are going to react," Cone said. "I really can't blame our guys for standing up for themselves."
Mixer James Yap was named the Best Player of the Game, scoring 22 points. Marqus Blakely had 25 points, nine rebounds, and six assists. New recruit Allein Maliksi also gave a good account of himself with 18 points.
Superstars match up as GlobalPort's Gary David (R) defends San Mig's James Yap. Jeff Venancio
James Yap started the game by swishing a triple. Marqus Blakely then added a free throw to give the Mixers an early 4-0 lead, before Yap sank four straight charities against a layup from Sol Mercado for an 8-2 San Mig Coffee lead. A Marc Pingris put-back upped their difference to eight points and forced GlobalPort to call their first timeout of the game at the 8:05 mark.
Yap scored a jumper at the 2:33 mark of the first, followed by two inside baskets from Allein Maliksi and Pingris to build a double-digit lead for the Mixers at 26-12. AJ Mandani banked in a jumper for GlobalPort, but Blakely added a difficult reverse layup for a 28-14 count in San Mig Coffee's favor, after 12 minutes.
The Mixers exploited GlobalPort's lack of ceiling as they used a big line-up with Yancy De Ocampo, Rafi Reavis, and Joe Devance. A triple from Maliksi gave the Mixers a 36-20 lead, but Mandani scored another basket to prevent their deficit from ballooning.
Markeith Cummings made his presence felt with 4:46 left in the second to trim GlobalPort's deficit down to 14 points, but Pingris quickly replied with a layup. Yap then picked up from his scorching first quarter with a triple and two free throws, to build a 19-point Mixer lead at 45-26.
Gary David finally scored from deep in the dying seconds of the first half. However, Blakely responded with an inside basket for an even 20-point buffer for San Mig Coffee at 51-31.
At the break, Yap led all scorers with 16 markers on 4-of-5 shooting from the field. Blakely added nine points, even if he still struggled from the free throw line, while Devance and Pingris added eight each.
GlobalPort struggled from the field as they only made 27.3 percent of their attempts, compared to 52.8 percent for San Mig Coffee. The Mixers also shared the ball better with nine assists to GlobalPort's four.
The game was halted at the 8:11 mark of the third as a melee broke out. It started when Blakley took down Marvin Hayes. The two then got entangled on the floor leading to Blakely shoving Hayes. Devance joined in the fracas by also pushing Hayes.
Things then really got out of hand when Nabong charged into Devance and Blakely. Pingris snapped, throwing punches while Nabong retaliated with a knee.
San Mig Coffee head coach Tim Cone (center-R) holds back GlobalPort player Kelly Nabong. Jeff Venancio
Pingris and Nabong were both thrown out for fighting while technical fouls were called on Devance and Hayes.
The scuffle lit a fire for GlobalPort as a three-point play from Cummings, followed by a triple from Gary David, trimmed the San Mig lead down to 13 points at 65-52 with 4:33 remaining in the third quarter.
Batang Pier got to within 10 points, but the Mixers raised it back to 17 after a Karl Malone-like dunk from Blakely. GlobalPort then countered with a 6-2 run to end the quarter and cut San Mig's lead back down to 13 at 79-66, heading into the final frame.
David heated up at the start of the fourth as he sank three free throws, followed by a triple, to bring the San Mig lead down to 12 at 85-73. A three-point play from Washington at the 6:46 mark got the Batang Pier into striking distance, looking at a nine-point gap at 89-80.
Barroca and Blakely conspired for a quick basket down low at the 5:00 mark of the fourth to rebuild their double-digit lead, 91-81, but Cummings quickly replied with a basket at the other end.
Two more free throws from David at the 3:01 mark of the fourth got GlobalPort to within seven points at 94-87, but Barroca responded with a floater followed by fastbreak buckets from Yap and Devance for a 13-point buffer for the Mixers with only 1:56 left in the game.
GlobalPort called a timeout but their next play resulted in another turnover, leading to a Blakely basket to seal the win for the Mixers.
"I'm just happy we got the win and we'll worry about the repercussions when we get there," Cone said. "We have Ginebra and Alaska next, so we need all of our players to come out and play."
David exploded for 27 points in the game but it wasn't enough to tow his team to a victory.
Cummings and Washington both had double-doubles for GlobalPort, with the import tallying 20 points and 14 rebounds, while Washington chipped in 14 and 12.
"When I see Gary shoot like that, the first thing I remember is that Powerade game," Cone said, referring to their epic 2012 Philippine Cup quarterfinals defeat to the then-Powerade Tigers, led by David. "But we were able to get stops and fastbreak points in the end to hang on." - RAF, GMA News
The scores:
San Mig 102 - Blakely 25, Yap 22, Maliksi 18, Devance 16, Pingris 10, Simon 4, Reavis 4, Barroca 3, Alvarez 0, Gaco 0, De Ocampo 0.
GlobalPort 88 - David 27, Cummings 20, Washington 14, Mercado 13, Miller 5, Mandani 4, Belencion 3, Salvador 2, Hayes 0, Taha 0, Nabong 0, Yee 0, Alonzo 0.
Quarters: 28-14, 51-31, 79-66, 102-88
