MARK Barroca admitted Magnolia let its guard down that allowed Barangay Ginebra to pull off an epic comeback, 95-92, in the PBA Christmas Day Clasico at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The veteran guard said the Hotshots began to play not to lose the moment they jumped to a 74-56 lead in the third period.
“Nagkampante kami sa laki ng lamang namin. Nawala yung killer instinct namin,” said Barroca of the Dec. 25 heartbreaker at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Yun ang nawala sa amin.”
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Barroca led all local Magnolia players with 13 points on 3-of-4 shooting from long distance, and added seven rebounds, and four assists. But he committed a team-high six turnovers.
He also had the daunting task of defending against the Ginebra backcourt of RJ Abarrientos, Scottie Thompson, Maverick Ahanmisi, and Stephen Holt, so much so that scoring took a backseat for him as he only netted two points during the Kings’ huge scoring run in the fourth quarter.
A breakdown in defense against the Kings’ final play also led to the Hotshots’ downfall, according to the 38-year-old native of Zamboanga City.
The Hotshots were wary of either Justine Brownlee or the red-hot Abarrientos taking the final shot for Ginebra after the two went on a pick and roll coming off a timeout.
But after Brownlee passed the ball back to Abarrientos, the rookie guard drove to the basket only to dish off to an open Thompson at the corner.
“Si Justin and RJ pabalik-balik doon sa handout nila. So nagka-confusion kami run, tapos nag-switch,” Barocca recalled of that final sequence in the last 11 seconds of the game and the crowd of 12,198 up on its feet.
“Pag-tingin ko wala palang tao si Scottie, kasi naka-deny ako kay Justin.”
WATCH:
Thompson nailed the game-winner at the buzzer complete with a picture-perfect follow-through before joining the Ginebra celebration at the sidelines.
“Pag tingin ko sakto talaga, zero-zero, pasok. Nakita ko net na lang 'yung gumalaw,” he said of Thompson’s dagger trey.
It was actually choosing their poison on the part of the Hotshots as both Brownlee and Abarrientos had been running amok from the field during the final quarter.
“Kung may ibibigay kaming tira, yun na talaga,” said Barroca.
Magnolia now stares at a 2-5 record after losing five of its last six outings, although this one really hurt for the Hotshots straight to the heart.
“Sobrang sakit. Grabe yun,” said Barroca with a smile, but obviously hurting inside. “Ganun talaga. Ang masakit lang kasi nga ang laki ng lamang namin, tapos ganun ang nangyari.
“Alam naman natin ang Ginebra, yung never-say-die nila. Kapag nagka-run talaga yan, kailangan weather the storm ka talaga.”
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