BARAKO Bull leaned on a strong fourth-quarter offensive to turn back a pesky Globalport squad, 108-95 and step up its playoff bid in the PLDT myDSL-PBA Philippine Cup on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Dennis Miranda and Mick Pennisi provided the timely shooting while fellow veteran Dorian Pena proved a major force off both boards for Barako Bull, who slowly pulled away in the second half on the way to its fourth win against seven losses.
“Sabi ko lang sa mga players kanina, we came from a hard game because against Rain or Shine na parang panalo na kami, eh natalo pa, but that’s (loss) part of the game,” said Barako Bull coach Bong Ramos.
“Sabi ko rin sa kanila, we approached Christmas with a win against Meralco and on Sunday, it’s God’s day, this will be our last game for December 2013, so let’s approach the new year with a bang,” he added.
The game was marked by 13 deadlocks and the same number of lead changes. But with the Energy Cola made the decisive burst at the start of the final period behind back-to-back three-pointers from JC Intal and rookie guard Carlo Lastimosa.
From there, Miranda, Pennisi and Willie Miller combined to score 16 of the team’s 26 fourth-quarter points as the Energy Cola handed the Batang Pier their third straight loss this conference - and sixth in 10 games.
Miranda led Barako Bull with 19 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Pena chipped in 15 and 10 boards. Pennisi finished with 14 while Lastimosa added 12 off the bench.
Jay Washington scored a career-high 30 points to pick up the scoring cudgels for the sputtering Batang Pier, while rookie Terrence Romeo added 16 points.
The scores:
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