PJ Simon hits game winner as San Mig Coffee escapes Barako Bull

MANILA, Philippines — Peter June sparked a run in the third quarter then capped his performance with the game-winner to lift San Mig Coffee past Barako Bull 92-91 Sunday in the 2012 PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Simon scored on a tough turnaround jumper with 19.4 seconds left, giving the Mixers the final edge followed by a crucial defensive stop on the other end, which ended in a controversy.

With ample time to get off game-clinching shot, the Energy attacked the hoop but Enrico Villanueva’s short stab just hit the back rim — which Raffy Reavis tapped away to safety.

No goal tending violation was made in the end, which the Mixers’ head coach Tim Cone thought was the right call for that play.

“I don’t know what the controversy is about the last shot, it’s legal and it’s under FIBA rule. Reavis tapped the ball off the rim,” said Cone, whose squad snapped a two-game slide.

The Mixers, after flipping the game around in an instant in the third quarter behind Simon and establishing a lead in the fourth, found themselves staring at a one-point deficit with 1:18 to go.

“We got a little bit too reliant on James in the fourth quarter. We have to get more guys involved,” said Cone.

And who couldn’t blame the Mixers for allowing James Yap to get into the zone in the fourth quarter, as he exploded for 21 points after scoring all but three in the second half.

But Simon, who’s also been one of Cone’s trusty scorers, found a way to win the game for the struggling San Mig Coffee when Yap’s shots down the stretch started caroming out.

Simon finished with 15 points — most of it in the third quarter run which turned a 12-point deficit to a four point edge entering the final period.

“We really needed this one tonight,” said Cone. “We needed to pull one out in the fourth quarter.”

Ronald Tubid led the Energy with 17 markers, firing back-to-back triples which brought his squad to within a point 89-90 in just a span of 20 ticks.

Enrico Villanueva, who went into early foul trouble, hung around to help Barako Bull, which absorbed it fourth loss, in the payoff period to add 16 points, six rebounds and five assists.

The scores:

SANMIG COFFEE 92 – Yap 21, Simon 15, Ramos 10, Barroca 9, Gonzales 9, Pingris 9, De Ocampo 8, Devance 5, Reavis 5, Villanueva 1.

BARAKO 91 – Tubid 17, Villanueva 16, Urbiztondo 14, Kramer 12, Pennisi 12, Najorda 9, Yap 5, Anthony 4, Cervantes 2, Alvarez 0, Ballesteros

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