MARK Barroca hit his only basket of the game on a tough turnaround jumper with 11.6 seconds to go, leading San Mig to an 85-83 win over Barangay Ginebra in Game One of their PLDT myDSL PBA Philippine Cup semifinal playoff.
The 5-7 Barroca scored just five points the entire game and was overshadowed by Ginebra spitfire LA Tenorio until the final moments of a see-sawing game when Ginebra turned the ball over on a badly executed inbound with the game tied at 83-all.
With no timeout to set up a play, the Mixers turned to their diminutive guard who took on Tenorio in the low post and hit a contested jumper, to the joy of the greatly outnumbered San Mig fans inside the Mall of Asia Arena.
"You always try to get the first win in the series because it sets the tone somewhat,” said San Mig coach Tim Cone. “It still is a big win. We want to establish ourselves quickly in the series knowing that Ginebra is the top seed and we’re the fifth seed (in the playoffs).”
That allowed the underdogs Mixers to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series against Ginebra, the top seeds from the eliminations who now find itself on the back foot when Game Two is played on Thursday.
San Mig forward Marc Pingris collared the rebound after Tenorio’s miss before Mac Baracael, who made an errant inbound play earlier, was forced to foul.
After Pingris bungled both foul shots with 2.3 seconds to play but with no timeout, Ginebra couldn't get a decent shot up as Tenorio was forced to heave a desperation attempt from the backcourt.
Devane led the Mixers with 20 points. Pingris added 10 and seven rebounds and made his defensive presence by holding Ginebra’s 6-11 rookie slotman Greg Slaughter to 10 points and nine boards.
Tenorio led the Gin Kings with 16 points, while Japeth Aguilar had 14 and eight boards.
The scores:
San Mig 85 - Devance 20, Simon 16, Pingris 10, De Ocampo 9, Sangalang 8, Melton 8, Barroca 5, Yap 5, Mallari 4, Reavis 0
Ginebra 83 - Tenorio 16, Aguilar 14, Baracael 12, Slaughter 10, Ellis 9, Caguioa 8, Reyes 5, Helterbrand 4, Monfort 3, Mamaril 2
Quarterscores: 26-28, 43-40, 57-65, 85-83
Get more of the latest sports news & updates on SPIN.ph
NOTICE ON UNAUTHORIZED AND UNLAWFUL USE, PUBLICATION, AND/OR DISSEMINATION OF SPIN.PH CONTENT: Please be notified that any unauthorized and unlawful use, publication, and/or dissemination of Spin.ph’s content and/or materials is a direct violation of its legal and exclusive rights to the same, and shall be subject to appropriate legal action/s.
