2:09 pm | Thursday, December 13th, 2012
Put to a test, sophomore Mark Barroca rose to the occasion and helped San Mig Coffee redeem itself from its harrowing experience in the same stage of the PBA Philippine Cup last season.
Barroca dazzled at the finish as the Mixers squeezed out a 92-87 win in overtime over the Petron Blaze Boosters and booked a berth in the Final Four before a good Thursday crowd at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The rookie playmaker was all over the floor at endgame, coming through with one crucial play after another to personally ease Petron Blaze out of the tourney.
It was redemption for the whole team after topping the elims of the tourney last season only to bungle its twice-to-beat advantage versus eventual second placer Powerade.
There’s no stopping coach Tim Cone and his troops from moving to the next round this time.
“Talk about being put in a wringer…..just facing Petron in the quarters is tough. That’s why we really wanted it done right away. We didn’t want a second game,” said Cone.
“It was such a crucial performance by us tonight to knock them out. They had great expectation coming into the season. And getting knocked out is tough. We experienced it last year,” Cone also said.
It took the Mixers great individual effort, including that of Barroca, who curiously was doubtful for this game two days ago.
“He’s Wolverine for us. He is knocked out one moment and he heals in the next moment. On Tuesday in practice, we thought we lost him to an elbow injury. The next day, he showed up and said he’s ready to play,” said Cone.
And what a game Barroca played!
Seeing extended minutes with Jonas Villanueva downed by dengue, the former Smart Gilas mainstay proved up to the task and even emerged the team’s biggest hero with numerous key plays down the stretch.
He took a steal then set up Rafi Reavis for a play that sent the latter to the stripe. He later scored on a jumper then drained two charities to keep the Boosters at bay in OT.
The Mixers had a chance to win it right away in regulation but James Yap missed a step-back jumper off Chris Lutz in the dying seconds.
Yap nonetheless had his moments, leading all scorers with 23 markers.
Marc Pingris piled up double-double numbers with 20 points and 11 rebounds while Joe Devance and PJ Simon added 12 markers each.
The two teams figured in a battle with June Mar Fajardo, Alex Cabagnot, Marcio Lassiter and Arwind Santos leading the Petron Blaze charge.
Lassiter failed to finish the game after a bad fall with 5:51 left to play. He was taken out of the venue on a stretcher and rushed to the hospital. (SB)
source: http://pba.inquirer.net/4891/san-mig-coffee-books-semis-seat
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