PBA: Barako Bull secures upset win against San Mig Coffee

(Updated 10:24pm) Willie Miller and Josh Dollard stepped up in the fourth quarter as Barako Bull Energy Cola dealt the San Mig Super Coffee Mixers their first loss in the 2014 PBA Commissioner's Cup, 92-90, arresting a three-game skid in the process, Tuesday at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

Dollard led all scorers with 32 points and 17 rebounds. Miller added 19 points, five rebounds and 10 assists, while JC Intal scattered 10 points and seven rebounds.

Trailing by 16 points to start the fourth, Miller and Dollard ripped up the Mixers' defense and tied the game at 90 apiece with seconds to spare. Thanks to San Mig Coffee's turnovers and some strong offensive rebounding of their own, the Energy put Ronjay Buenafe in a position to convert two from the line. Mixer Mark Barroca had a chance to send the game into overtime, but his floater at point-blank range rimmed out, eliciting a collective sigh of relief from the Barako Bull team and their fans.

Miller and Dollard had 13 points each in the fourth quarter, and scored all but four of Barako Bull's 30 points.

"My players still continued to follow the gameplan. We prepared a lot against this team because they're very fluid on offense. We can't match them man for man, that's why we tried to make some adjustments by putting them away from their comfort zone," said coach Bong Ramos, who looked very pleased with the win.

"Chamba lang talaga. We'll try our best to be close in every game. Glory to God for allowing us to achieve that," he finished.

Luck, good or bad, may have something to do with the Energy's record thus far. Barako Bull (2-4) is currently ranked eighth and their only other win came at the expense of Rain or Shine, the Mixers' co-finalists in the last conference. They easily could've had more notches in the win column too, since three of their four losses came by an average of five points.

On the other hand, San Mig Coffee (3-1) slides to third place.

James Mays bullied Barako Bull in the paint to start the game and limited their options on offense. The Energy got by on second-chance points, and tied the game at 13-13 after back-to-back hits by Jason Deutchman. However, San Mig Coffee closed the first with a 13-5 run, highlighted by a driving baseline slam by Mays to lead 26-18.

The Energy settled into a zone defense to slow down San Mig Coffee, and slotted Jeric Fortuna and Willie Miller in the backcourt. The guards took turns facilitating the offense, which looked crisper and more composed, en route to taking a 42-40 lead off a Josh Dollard layup with four minutes to play in the first half.

San Mig Coffee threatened to end the second period with a tie after a Marc Pingris floater with eight seconds left, but Miller countered with a halfcourt pass to an unguarded Dave Marcelo beneath the rim, for his eighth assist and a 49-47 lead at the intermission.
 

After the break, the Mixers capitalized on Barako Bull's lax play, going on a 9-0 run that forced a timeout barely three minutes into the third quarter. Buoyed by eight points from James Yap, San Mig Coffee weathered a brief revival from Josh Dollard and JC Intal, 63-59, before unplugging the Energy in the last five minutes. The Mixers held Barako Bull to just two points until the quarter's end, and turned Joe Devance loose on offense for six points in a 16-2 run, 78-62.

Miller and Dollard quickly made up ground in the fourth and combined for 14 points during a 16-0 run, tying the game at 78-78. The Mixers didn't score until the six-minute mark, and needed a PJ Simon jumper after their second timeout to try and quell the rally. San Mig Coffee moved the ball from side to side to tease apart the Energy's zone, but had no answer Miller and Dollard. In between two Mixers turnovers, Dollard hit a triple to give his team a 90-88 edge with 1:23 left.

Dollard missed his next jumper in the lane, allowing Simon to streak up-court for an easy layup and a tied ballgame. The Mixers couldn't secure Miller's miss and tipped the ball out of bounds, returning the ball to the Energy with a fresh shot clock and 39 seconds left. Marc Pingris hounded Miller, who gave the ball up to Mick Pennisi for a corner trey that missed. But Barako Bull came up with the loose ball, and called timeout with 8.8 seconds left.

Ronjay Buenafe drew a foul with 7.2 ticks left and made both charities from the line. San Mig Coffee called timeout, and Mark Barroca freed himself on the left wing and drove to the rim. But uncharacteristically, the point guard's floater rattled in and out of the hoop. Pennisi grabbed the rebound to finalize the win for his team.

Barako Bull shot 36-of-78 (46.2 percent) from the field while holding the Mixers to 6-of-20 (30 percent) in the final period and 39-of-91 (42.9 percent) overall.

James Mays had a team-high 20 points, 21 rebounds and four assists for the Mixers, but scored only four markers in the entire second half. Joe Devance added 17 points, while PJ Simon tallied 16 points, four rebounds and five assists. James Yap had 12 points and six rebounds, and Mark Barroca had 12 points and four assists. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

BARAKO BULL 92 - Dollard 32, Miller 19, Intal 10, Marcelo 7, Deutchman 6, Pennisi 6, Fortuna 5, Buenafe 5, Wilson 2, Lastimosa 0, Pena 0, Miranda 0

SAN MIG COFFEE 90 - Mays 20, Devance 17, Simon 16, Yap 12, Barroca 10, Pingris 8, Melton 3, Sangalang 2, Reavis 2, Mallari 0

Quarter scoring: 18-26, 49-47, 62-78, 92-90