Michael Singletary went 6-of-6 from beyond the arc and was a monster from all over the floor only to commit one grievous error at the finish allowing San Mig Coffee to have the final laugh in its thrilling duel of spurts with Barako Bull.Former Barako Bull player Allein Maliksi ably filled in for the struggling James Yap, helping big time as the Mixers outlasted the Energy Cola, 81-77, to gain outright passage into the PBA Governors Cup playoff phase at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Saturday night.
The Mixers made the last decisive run in the contest and eventually claimed the crucial win as Singletary negated his 38-point explosion in turning the ball over with 9.5 ticks left and his team trailing, 77-79.
“We’re lucky we caught up and got them to a drought,” said San Mig coach Tim Cone as they escaped with their fourth straight win and their fifth in eight games in all.
The Energy Cola moved out of the Magic Four at 4-4.
“I knew going to this game, this is gonna be a tough one for us. It’s a danger game,” said Cone.
“Barako is a well-coached team, and I told the guys this is gonna be a hard game, much harder than we thought. You have to find a way to pull it out, and somehow they did,”
It’s an exciting game of runs that had the Energy Cola opening a nine-point lead, 75-66, on a 17-2 binge in the fourth quarter.
The Mixers, however, would answer with a 13-2 tear to reclaim the lead at 79-77 with 18.3 ticks left.
Barako Bull was out to force extra play when Singletary, without pressure from defender Marcus Blakely, lost the ball to the sideline. He dribbled off his foot and the ball flew out of bounds.
Desperately fouled by Singletary himself, Maliksi coolly sank the charities for the final count.
Maliksi finished with 18 points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals while facing his former team for the first time.
“You can see the value of Allein. If James struggles a bit, we have Allein who can go out on the floor and take over,” said Cone.
Blakely came through with 22 points and 14 rebounds while Mark Barroca was the other Mixer finishing in double figures with 12 markers.
Maliksi rose to the occasion as Yap struggled for just three points on 1-of-12 field shooting.
Maliksi teamed up with Blakely and Barroca as they worked on a key endgame run, overhauling San Mig’s nine-point deficit in the last six minutes of the game.
Behind a big run in a stretch bridging the first two quarters, the Mixers came from behind to take the half at 39-31.
The Mixers seized control going into the final half as they held the Energy Cola to 16.7-percent field shooting for only 11 points in the second quarter.
The Energy Cola started strong behind their starting unit of Singletary, Macapagal, Mick Pennisi, Eman Monfort and JC Intal, taking command at 20-12. (SB)
The scores:
San Mig Coffee 81 – Blakely 22, Maliksi 18, Barroca 12, Devance 8, Simon 8, Mallari 5, Pingris 5, Yap 3, Reavis 0.
Barako 77 – Singletary 38, Macapagal 16, Pennisi 6, Marcelo 5, Seigle 5, Cruz 3, Jensen 2, Villanueva 2, Monfort 0, Buenafe 0, Intal 0.
Quarters: 17-20, 39-31, 61-58, 81-77.
Source: http://pba.inquirer.net/30845/mixers-gain-quarters-entry-on-fourth-straight-win
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