San Mig Coffee bounces back, grabs a 2-1 semis lead over Ginebra

Mark Barroca of San Mig Coffee (light) vs Chris Ellis of Ginebra (dark). PBA IMAGE by Nuki Sabio

MANILA, Philippines — Raring to bounce back, San Mig Coffee fashioned out a vengeful 97-89 win over Barangay Ginebra San Miguel to gain a 2-1 series lead in their best-of-seven PBA Philippine Cup semifinals Sunday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Mark Barroca posted a career-high 25 points, including nine in the fourth quarter, as the Mixers had the final say in a game of spurts.

“It was a really nice game after getting beat so badly in the last game,” San Mig Coffee head coach Tim Cone told reporters just moments after his squad rebounded from a 64-93 blowout in Game 2 last Friday.

“We got great contributions down the stretch from our two rookies Justin (Melton) and Ian (Sangalang).”

PJ Simon added 19 points while Marc Pingris had a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds for the Mixers, who aim to go up 3-1 Wednesday in Game 4.

“Still, we don’t feel comfortable being up 2-1. Every game we got to be on top of our game to be able to beat this team.”

Seven-foot rookie Greg Slaughter also had a career-best output with 29 points, 19 in the first half, to go along with 13 rebounds to pace the Kings, who roared back from a 15-point deficit before allowing the Mixers to pull away in the final five minutes.