PBA IMAGE by Nuki Sabio
MANILA, Philippines — Marc Pingris scored 13 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter as San Mig Coffee came back to beat Barako Bull, 90-88, in the 39th PBA MyDSL Philippine Cup Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Mixers battled back from 10 points down, 63-73, to end a two-game losing skid for a 2-5 record.
“It’s not supposed to be this hard to win but it is,” said San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone.
James Yap had 16 points, including two free throws that appeared to be the clincher with San Mig Coffee up, 88-82, with only 15.8 seconds left.
But the Energy still refused to go down with JC Intal hitting two triples in the final 15 ticks that cut the deficit to one, 89-88, with exactly 4.0 seconds remaining.
PJ Simon was fouled and made only his first free throw that left the door open for Barako Bull. Ronjay Buenafe misfired though on an off-balanced 3-pointer coming off a long inbound pass by Denok Miranda as time ran out.
“I wouldn’t have been surprised if Buenafe made that shot the way our conference is going,” said Cone.
“But as long as our chemistry doesn’t die, and our desire then it’s just going to make us a stronger team down the line.”
Intal fired all of his 21 points in the second half and had six rebounds and a pair of assists and steals in a losing effort as Barako Bull suffered its fifth straight setback for a 2-5 card.
The Mixers had five players in double-figure scoring with rookie Ian Sangalang adding 15 while Mark Barroca and Simon finishing with 13 each. Pingris also grabbed 11 rebounds and went nine-of-nine at the free throw line in the final frame.
Despite the win, San Mig Coffee still finds itself at the bottom half of the standings.
“It’s a difficult time for us. All you can do is keep on working and working and find a way and tonight we found the way. Our guys kept battling and that’s what they have to learn. During these hard times it’s about digging deep until you find something positive,” Cone added.
“It’s like a perfect storm for us and we just got to weather it.”