In last night’s action
from the 2013-2014 PBA Philippine Cup, TNT lost yet another big lead, while the
Mixers finally strung up back-to-back victories.
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| Mark Barroca continued to play great basketball last night for SMC. |
In the curtain-raiser, Talk
N Text beat Barako Bull, 87-80, behind the superb showing of Ranidel De Ocampo.
After playing not-so-spectacular ball in his first two games this season, RDO
has really filled up the stat-sheet of late. In this game, the Gilas mainstay
reeled in 17 points and 10 rebounds, shooting 6/13 from the field, including 3
triples. After averaging just 5.5 points and 6.0 rebounds and shooting 33% from
long range in his first couple of matches, the former St. Francis of Assisi
player is now norming 18.5 points and 8.0 boards per outing and has shot better
than 54% from beyond the arc in TNT's last two contests.
Another game, another
20-point lead squandered for the Tropang Texters, whose habit of leaving the
door ajar for opposing teams to climb rally in the second half is really
disturbing. At the end of the day, coach Norman Black acknowledges that, yes, a
win is still a win, but he is certainly not satisfied with HOW his wards have
been netting these Ws. A statement victory will definitely not hurt at this
point.
With a second straight
great game, it looks as if JC Intal has regained his once sharp form. The
former Ateneo Blue Eagle is averaging 17.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in the
Energy Cola's last two games, including putting up a sublime double-double in
this one -- 14 points and 11 rebounds on top of 3 assists, 2 blocks, and 1
steal. If Intal can be consistent with this kind of production, then he might
just be an early frontrunner in the league's Most Improved Player race.
In the main game, San Mig
Coffee overcame GlobalPort, 83-80, through a great, balanced effort. The Mixers
consequently moved up to a tie for sixth place in the team standings. Mark
Barroca, continued his impressive playmaking for SMC with 18 points, 9 assists,
5 rebounds, and 3 steals while also shooting 7/10 from the field. Slowly, the
former Gilas point guard has blossomed into one of the league's most efficient
floor generals. His current averages are (after 8 games): 16.4 points, 5.1
rebounds, 4.8 assists, 2.5 steals, and 1.0 three-pointers per game. He is the
Mixer with the highest player efficiency rating right now, and he is #8 overall
in the current conference.
Looks like Terrence Romeo
has quickly become the PBA's version of a mystery box -- you just don't know
what you'll get with him. You have him scoring 30+ points in one game and then
practically disappearing in the next. Jekyll-Hyde much? In this encounter, the
reigning UAAP MVP neted just 2 points in 23 minutes of play. He chucked 10
shots, making just 1. He did grab 5 rebounds, but it was also balanced out by
his committing 2 turnovers. If Romeo will become an elite player in the pros,
then he really needs to work on one thing -- consistency.
With the second pick in
the 2013 PBA Draft, Tim Cone selected Ian Sangalang. We all knew this kid was
good, but did we really expect him to be this good this soon? I mean, he's
playing alongside established guys like Rafi Reavis and Joe Devance, not to
mention Gilas star Marc Pingris. He shouldn't be averaging 11.8 points and 6.6
rebounds per game, especially since he's playing just around 25 minutes per
game, right? But he is. Right now, among all rookies, Sangalang has the
second-highest player efficiency rating (28.54 EFF), right behind Ginebra's
Greg Slaughter.
Game Recaps:
TALK N TEXT over BARAKO BULL, 87-80
For the second straight
game, the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters built up a 20-point lead in the first
half.
And for the second
straight game, they squandered that advantage before pulling out a thrilling
victory.
Talk ‘N Text escaped with
an 87-80 win in overtime on Friday at the Mall of Asia Arena, much to coach
Norman Black’s relief.
“We don’t play with the
same intensity and the same energy (in the second half) as we do in the first
half,” said Black.
“I do consider that
something we need to fix. But at the end of the day, a win is a win.”
The Tropang Texters were
coming off a close 90-87 win over Rain or Shine last Tuesday, a game that saw
them lose a 20-point first half lead.
They built up a 23-point
bubble in the first half, before Barako Bull sprung a zone that slowed down the
Talk ‘N Text offense.
“We certainly struggled
with their zone defense,” said Black. “That nearly cost us the game.”
Barako Bull steadily
chipped away at the deficit in the third and fourth quarters, but were still
down by five points, 71-66, heading into the final two minutes of the game.
Two-time Most Valuable
Player Willie Miller hit a tough jumper to cut the lead to three points with
1:10 remaining.
He followed that up with
the game-tying three-pointer with 29 seconds left that sent the match into
overtime.
It was still a
nip-and-tuck affair in the extra period, with Jayson Castro and Mick Pennisi
trading bombs for both teams. Ranidel De Ocampo hit a three-pointer with 1:05
left to break the game’s final deadlock, 83-80.
Miller had a golden chance
to tie the game in the next possession after drawing a foul from Larry Fonacier
from beyond the arc. But Miller went from hero to goat, missing all three of
his shots from the stripe.
Noy Baclao drew a loose
ball foul on the rebound play with 36.9 seconds left, and he buried both his
free throws to give Talk ‘N Text an 85-80 edge. Talk ‘N Text foiled successive
attempts by Barako Bull, before Castro nailed two free throws to seal the win.
Castro finished with 23
points, six rebounds, and nine assists, quarterbacking the team in the absence
of Jimmy Alapag. De Ocampo added 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Larry
Fonacier and Kelly Williams chipped in 13 and 10 points apiece.
Miller led the way with 16
points and 10 rebounds for Barako Bull, which lost its sixth straight game
after winning its first two matches. JC Intal had 14 points and 11 rebounds.
TNT 87 – Castro 23, De Ocampo 17, Fonacier 13, Williams 10, Seigle 9, Carey 6,
Baclao 4, Aban 2, Celiz 0, Reyes 0, Poligrates 0.
BAR 80 – Miller 16, Intal 14, Pennisi 11, Jensen 10, Miranda 10, Pena 7,
Buenafe 5, Maierhofer 3, Lastimosa 2, Isip 2, Wilson 0, Marcelo 0, Labagala 0.
QS: 18-7, 39-19, 57-44, 71-71, 87-80.
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| Coach Norman Black isn't too happy with the way his wards have lost big leads. |
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| Willie Miller turned from hero to goat in the endgame. |
SAN MIG COFFEE over GLOBALPORT, 83-80
James Yap hit the go-ahead
three-pointer with 25.1 seconds left and his San Mig Super Coffee Mixers held
on for an 83-80 victory over the GlobalPort Batang Pier on Friday at the Mall
of Asia Arena.
The Batang Pier had gone
on a 7-0 run capped by a Jay Washington putback to take the lead, 80-78, with
35 seconds left. Mark Barroca’s layup attempt in the ensuing play was foiled,
but he recovered to loft a pass out to James Yap, who calmly buried the dagger
from beyond the arc.
“That’s why he’s James
Yap,” said San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone.
GlobalPort had a chance to
tie the game, but rookie Justin Chua, who was drafted by San Mig Coffee before
being traded to the Batang Pier before the season, threw the ball away on the
next play. Barroca hit two free throws and the Mixers foiled the Batang Pier’s
final attempt to escape with the win.
The victory gave the
Mixers their first winning streak of the season, improving their win-loss
record to 3-5.
“It’s great to see your
faces two games in a row,” said Cone. “It seems like it’s been about two years
since we’ve had back-to-back wins.”
Barroca led San Mig Coffee
with 18 points, nine assists, five rebounds, and three steals. He dominated his
matchup with fellow former Far Eastern University stars RR Garcia and Terrence
Romeo, who managed just eight and two points, respectively.
“I love Mark. He plays
hard all the time. He’s such a joy to coach,” said Cone. “He’s gonna be the
superstar point guard in a few years.”
Yap added 15 points, six
rebounds, five assists, and two steals, while Ian Sangalang, who turned 22 on
the day, chipped in 15 points and nine rebounds.
The Mixers featured
balanced scoring, with Peter June Simon scoring 14 points and Joe Devance
adding 13.
The loss snapped the
three-game winning streak of GlobalPort, whose record dropped to an even 4-4.
Sol Mercado carried the fight for the Batang Pier with 18 points, while Jay
Washington added 15 points and 18 rebounds.
SMC 83 - Barroca 18, Sangalang 15, Yap 15, Simon 14, Devance 13, Pingris 4,
Mallari 2, Reavis 2, Cawaling 0, Holstein 0
GLO 80 - Mercado 18, Washington 15, Chua 11, Nabong 8, Hayes 8, Garcia 8, Menk
6, Yee 2, Salva 2, Romeo 2, Villanueva 0, Lingganay 0, Salvador 0
QS: 18-19, 41-37, 64-58, 83-80
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| RR Garcia for the pull-away lay-up. |
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| Joe Devance wiggles free from the defense of Sol Mercado. |
Source: Unless otherwise specified, game recaps were compressed and
compiled from InterAKTV. (Writing credit to Rey Joble)
Images: Unless otherwise specified, images are from the PBA and AKTV.
(Photo credit to Paul Ryan Tan)
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