Ginebra big man Greg Slaughter is sandwiched by San Mig Coffee’s PJ Simon and Yancy de Ocampo during Game 1 of their best-of-7 semifinal series last night.
(pba images)
Playmaker Mark Barroca made his lone fieldgoal at the most opportune time to power the San Mig Coffee Mixers to a pulsating 85-83 win over the top-seeded Barangay Ginebra Kings in Game One of their best-of-seven semifinal series of the 39th PBA Philippine Cup at the Mall of Asia Arena on Tuesday.
The five-foot-10 Barroca, who only had five points, sank a tough jumper over LA Tenorio with 11.6 second left, capping the Coffee Mixers comeback from an eight-point deficit to start the fourth quarter.
Barroca had missed all of his first six attempts before coming up with a game-wining play.
It was a sorry loss for the Kings, who entered the fourth with a 65-57 lead.
The Coffee Mixers went on to steal the upper-hand, 80-75, in the 3:11 mark but the Kings recovered and snatched back the lead, 83-81, on a fastbreak layup by Tenorio with 35.8 seconds left.
San Mig tied things up with Yancy De Ocampo finding Joe Devance for an unmolested layup underneath, knotting the score at 83-all with 32.2 seconds left.
Ginebra burned their remaining two timeouts to map out a crucial play only to commit a huge turnover as Mac Baracael’s inbound pass went awry that led to Barroca’s game-winning basket.
Tenorio tried to save the Kings but his three-point shot in their final possession missed the mark.
Meanwhile, the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters shoot for a crucial 2-0 lead in their own semifinal duel with the Petron Blaze Boosters at 8 p.m. today at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Using a dizzying uptempo game, the Elasto Painters dominated the Boosters in their series-opener Monday night, 103-95.
Rain or Shine made 35 fastbreak points on 20 attempts. Petron committed a season-high 25 turnovers and the Elasto Painters were quick to pounce on by scoring 24 turnover points.
“We want it fast, we want it in the open court. We’re ready to play a long series. We’re ready to play at a fast, furious pace,” said ,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao in a pba.ph report.