PBA: San Mig Coffee ekes out close win versus Barako Bull

Marc Pingris willed a fourth quarter comeback for the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers over Barako Bull Energy Cola, 90-88, in the PLDT MyDSL 2014 PBA Philippine Cup, Tuesday, at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
 
Pingris scored 13 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter, but his team lost a six-point lead in the last 15 seconds, thanks to late triples from JC Intal, and was forced to scrape by via a 4-of-6 mark from the line to eke out the win.

The Mixers notched just their second victory, while Barako Bull lost their fifth straight. Both teams sit at 2-5, along with the idle Alaska Aces.
 
The first quarter was tightly contested, with neither team leading by more than three points. Barako Bull edged the Mixers early, 17-15, making the most of contested looks. However, San Mig Coffee mixed it up in the paint and broke away with a 9-2 run in the last two minutes, 24-19, after an Ian Sangalang and-one.
 
Barako Bull cut the SMC lead to one early in the second quarter, 26-25, on a Willy Wilson drive. But the Mixers countered against the Energy’s weak defense with an 11-3 run, capped by five straight from James Yap, 37-28. The Mixers took their foot off the gas on offense though, converting just one field goal in the last six minutes of the quarter. Meanwhile, the Energy Cola scrapped for second-chance points and transition baskets for a 13-6 blitz, capped by a Ronjay Buenafe trey, to trail 43-41 at halftime.
 
Despite shaky play from both sides, Barako Bull edged ahead in the third quarter, 46-45, as Denok Miranda converted an and-one in transition. The Mixers fell behind during a 19-4 run while Mark Barroca sat on the bench after tweaking an ankle. JC Intal led the Energy’s up-tempo attack with nine points during the stretch, 60-49.
 
Barroca returned though in the final two minutes and hit a floater to make it a seven-point game, only for Intal to draw a foul off Sangalang for a huge four-point play, lifting Barako Bull to a 66-58 tally at the end of three quarters.
 
The Energy relapsed though early in the fourth as they found themselves in the penalty situation at the 8:04 mark, leading to charities from Marc Pingris, 73-68.
 
A Miranda and-one at 6:31 briefly stemmed the tide, but the Mixers were just warming up. Pingris answered immediately with an and-one of his own, and powered a 16-6 rally, scoring off his aggressive play and converting from the line with two minutes remaining, 83-80.

After three empty possessions, Barako Bull drew closer as Intal broke away in transition, 83-82. Devance drew contact on the other end and split charities, missing the second one. The officials called a foul on Pennisi for contact with Pingris on the rebound with 22 seconds left, and Pingris converted both, 86-82.

Barako Bull called timeout and freed up Buenafe for a three-pointer at the top of the key, but could not connect. The Energy then sent Yap to the line, who obliged with two more free throws, 15 seconds to play.

Intal fought to keep Barako Bull in the game and managed to drain a trey on the other end to force another timeout from San Mig Coffee, leading to split Devance free throws. Without any timeouts left, Intal pushed the ball up for another made triple, then sent PJ Simon to the line, 89-88, with 3.1 ticks left. Simon also then came away with just one. Pingris was called for a foul on Isip on the rebound, but they weren't in the penalty yet, and the Energy inbounded from the backcourt sideline. With time winding down, Buenafe forced a fadeaway three which was off the mark.

James Yap matched Pingris' scoring with 16 markers as well, along with nine boards, three assists and two steals. Second overall pick Ian Sangalang added 15 points off the bench,  while Mark Barroca and PJ Simon managed 13 apiece, and combined for 10 boards and five dimes.

Former SMC Mixer JC Intal led all scorers with 21 points in 25 minutes of action. Dennis Miranda, returning from injury, scored 14, while Ronjay Buenafe could only manage 12 points, missing 7-of-9 three's, though he did issue five assists.

Barako lost despite out-shooting their foes, 43.4 percent versus 38.7 percent. San Mig made up ground with 44 free throws, 27 more than their opponents, though they only converted 65.9 percent.  - AMD, GMA News



The scores:

San Mig Coffee 90 - Pingris 16, Yap 16, Sangalang 15, Barroca 13, Simon 13, Devance 9, De Ocampo 3, Reavis 3, Cawaling 2, Mallari 0

Barako Bull 88 - Intal 21, Miranda 14, Buenafe 12, Isip 10, Maierhofer 7, Miller 6, Pennisi 6, Jensen 4, Wilson 4, Lastimosa 2, Labagala 2, Marcelo 0

Quarter scoring: 24-19, 43-41, 58-66, 90-88