Garcia, Barako Bull foil NLEX’s playoff bid

RR Garcia of Barako (dark) vs Asi Taulava and Macmac Cardona of NLEX (light). NUKI SABIO/PBA

MANILA, Philippines—RR Garcia made the crucial plays late and Barako Bull formalized its entry in the quarterfinals with a 92-87 win over skidding NLEX in the 2015 PBA Philippine Cup Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Garcia grabbed an offensive rebound, made a tough basket, had a steal and a block in the final minute for the Energy, who also foiled the Road Warriors’ bid to clinch a playoff spot.

“Sobrang hirap (it was really hard),” said the former UAAP MVP Garcia. “Grabe pinagtrabahuhan namin sa ensayo (we worked so hard in practice).”

Garcia played a team-high 32 minutes and scored 22 points built on 3-of-5 shooting from the three-point area and had five rebounds.

“Grabe tiwala na binibigay sa akin ni coach (coach has a lot of trust in me).”

With the Energy up by just three, Garcia gave his team extra possession after picking up a miss by Chico Lanete before scoring against Mac Cardona on a tough layup that stretched the lead to five, 86-81, with 29.8 seconds left.

Garcia was far from done as he swiped the ball away from Cardona before rejecting Jong Baloria’s 3-point try that would’ve cut the lead to just two.

“We wanted to use this game as our preparation for the coming playoffs,” said Barako Bull head coach Koy Banal. “Good thing the guys responded well.”

The Energy have now won four of their last five games after dropping their first five starts.

Banal said the coaching staff put a lot of emphasis on the team’s defense after the losses piled up.

“It’s obvious. Crystal clear we were deadlast in defense in our first five games. We thought we’re playing it right but the numbers showed we weren’t. After those losses, we started focusing on our defense,” Banal pointed out.

Lanete and Willie Wilson added 13 points apiece while Mick Pennisi and JC Intal had 12 and 10 points, respectively.

Asi Taulava had 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Road Warriors, who reeled to their third loss in a row that also kept the Kia Sorento alive for a playoff spot.