Finals MVP Barroca relishes winning Philippine Cup title

Video by NOY MORCOSO III/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — San Mig Coffee guard Mark Barroca had his fingerprints all over Game 6 and at the end of the night, he had his hands on a championship and a Finals MVP.

Barroca saved his best for last with 24 points, 13 coming in the fourth quarter, to lead the Mixers over the gritty Rain or Shine Elasto Painters to capture their franchise’s sixth Philippine Cup championship overall Wednesday night.

“Isa sa gusto ko talagang mapanalo yung all-Filipino (The one thing I’d really love to win is the Philippine Cup title),” said Barroca, who was named the PBA Press Corps Finals MVP.

“The only thing that Mark really stood out in is he’s a terrific defensive point guard and that’s what kind of we want to build around,” his coach Tim Cone said of Barroca’s first year in the league. “So did we expect this offensive explosion? Well if you watched him in FEU in his heyday this is the stuff that he would do and he’s just been able to translate it to the next level.”

San Mig Coffee guard Mark Barroca holds his MVP Finals plaque. NOY MORCOSO/INQUIRER.net

Barroca, who was drafted fifth overall in 2011, the same class as former National team mainstays JVee Casio, Chris Lutz, Marcio Lassiter and Painters’ main man Paul Lee, averaged 13 points, 3 rebounds and close to four assisters per game in San Mig Coffee’s four wins in the championship series.

The five-foot-10 Barroca, who also starred in the Mixers’ seven-game series win over crowd-favorite Barangay Ginebra, badly wanted to win a Philippine Cup title and now he has his.

“I don’t know if there’s a better, well there’s Jayson Castro, but I don’t think there’s a two way point guard out there both sides of the ball he’s just tough as nails, said Cone, now the league’s winningest coach with 16 titles, just moments after his squad clinched the title.

“But yeah there are some guys out there and I don’t want to be absolute but at least he’s one of them.”

But with a championship on one hand and a Finals MVP on the other, Barroca just might be the best two-way guard today.

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