PBA: Clutch Yap, Barroca help San Mig Coffee snap GlobalPort's win streak

(Updated 10:42pm) James Yap nailed a huge go-ahead three-pointer and Mark Barroca came up with a steal, as the San Mig Coffee Mixers spoiled GlobalPort Batang Pier's three-game win streak, 83-80, in the PLDT MyDSL 2014 PBA Philippine Cup, Friday, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

With the game tied, James Yap answered a Jay Washington tip-in with a top-of-the-arc trey to give the Mixers an 81-80 edge with 25 seconds on the clock. Mark Barroca then forced a turnover and converted from the line, leaving GlobalPort with 15 seconds to tie the game. The Batang Pier though missed two chances to force OT, as Jay Washington and Terrence Romeo would not connect from the arc.

Barroca paced the Mixers with 18 points, five rebounds, nine assists and three steals. Yap had five assists and tied Ian Sangalang with 15 points, the two secured six and nine rebounds, respectively. PJ Simon added 14 points off the bench, while Joe Devance tallied 14 points as well, plus nine rebounds.

"That's why he's James Yap," said Mixers head coach Tim Cone. "[He delivered] at the time we really needed it."

The Mixers improved to 3-5, having won two in a row after a 1-5 start, while GlobalPort evened out at 4-4.

Cone admitted that it's taken a while for San Mig Coffee to get up to speed, but he maintains that they are better than their record.

"I think early in the conference we weren't ready, and that's why we were getting beat soundly. If you're not ready to play, any team can beat you," he said. Cone added that his team had been underperforming to expectations, while a team like Barako Bull plays better than they look on paper. "It's just about getting ourselves motivated and focused.

"It's a shining example of how hard it is. Every team is good. You have to be ready on any given night."

Cone looks to make the most of the momentum from this game, revealing that his team is set to practice on Christmas eve and on Christmas day. "You have to create something positive before you get rolling," he said. "Hopefully we can use this to create some momentum for us."

GlobalPort initially fell in a 7-2 hole as the Mixers pounced on their slow transition defense. But the Batang Pier took the lead when they settled into a zone defense, while exploiting the driving lanes on the other end, 19-14, off a layup by Eric Menk. With 42 seconds to play, Mark Barroca drained a triple from the left corner to end the quarter with the Mixers trailing, 19-18.

San Mig Coffee's midrange play in the second quarter was swallowed up by Batang Pier's effort on the offensive glass, as they scored 10 of their first 13 points off the extra possessions, 32-27. The Mixers though broke through in the last four minutes and got the ball closer to the rim, as James Yap and Ian Sangalang combined for their next 10 points, 37-35.

The Mixers closed the half in impressive fashion, as Devance cut to the rim for two with six seconds left. Nico Salva replied for GlobalPort with a runner on the other end, but Barroca had the final say with long two as time expired, which was upheld upon review, for a 41-37 SMC advantage after two quarters.


Both teams traded baskets in the third, though the Mixers kept their edge by collapsing on Sol Mercado, which limited GlobalPort's ability to run their offense smoothly. PJ Simon and Barroca scored eight points during a 12-5 run to offset triples made by Jay Washington, 56-50. With both teams missing easy baskets in the last five minutes, San Mig Coffee carried a 64-58 lead heading into the final period.

GlobalPort came knocking at the onset of the fourth quarter, as Mercado scored by penetrating the defense. Hampered by a 1-of-4 stint at the stripe by Marc Pingris, San Mig Coffee fell behind as Mercado and Justin Chua combined for 13 points in a 15-7 swing, 73-70.

At 4:45, a Pingris layup ended a four-minute drought for the Mixers. The basket opened the floodgates for his team, as Barroca cherry-picked a basket on the break, then drew an and-one to backbone eight unanswered for the Mixers, 78-73. But they weren't in the clear yet as Chua drew an and-one from midrange with two minutes to play, and two possessions later, RR Garcia broke away uncontested to knot the game, 78-all, with 1:20 left on the clock.

Washington cleaned up a Chua miss after trading empty possessions, but Yap responded with what turned out to be the decider, 81-80, with 25.1 seconds left. GlobalPort called their last timeout and set up a pick and pop between Mercado and Chua, but Barroca swiped a pass from Chua and was intentionally fouled. Barroca then trooped to the line to put the finishing touches on the win.

The Mixers shot 33-of-84 (39.3 percent) from the field, while GlobalPort went 31-of-95 (32.6 perent). San Mig Coffee led in assists (23-11) and turnover points (21-6), though the Batang Pier owned the second-chance points category (17-10).

Sol Mercado notched 18 points for Batang Pier, while Jay Washington had 15 points and 18 rebounds, including nine offensive. Justin Chua, originally drafted by San Mig Coffee before being traded for Isaac Holstein, scored nine of his 11 points in the fourth quarter while collecting six rebounds and three blocks. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

San Mig Coffee 83 - Barroca 18, Sangalang 15, Yap 15, Simon 14, Devance 13, Pingris 4, Mallari 2, Reavis 2, Cawaling 0, Holstein 0

GlobalPort 80 - Mercado 18, Washington 15, Chua 11, Nabong 8, Hayes 8, Garcia 8, Menk 6, Yee 2, Salva 2, Romeo 2, Villanueva 0, Lingganay 0, Salvador 0

Quarter scoring: 18-19, 41-37, 64-58, 83-80