Globalport failed to sue for time when it still had one timeout left in the final seconds, making its 98-97 loss to Barako Bull a bitter pill to swallow on Sunday night during their PBA Governors Cup game.
The Batang Pier made the costly mistake in the final possession of the game they controlled for three quarters, and the outcome of the match hanging in the balance in the waning seconds.
The result had Sol Mercado taking a long, desperate shot from just about mid-court that banked off the board but failed to hit the mark.
The Batang Pier guard later admitted the team wasn’t told about calling a timeout during its last huddle in the final 30 seconds and Globalport just trailing by a single point, 97-98.
“The timeout wasn’t discussed to us, not in my memory, it wasn’t told to us to get a timeout (if we get ball possession back). We should have talked about it,” Mercado told Spin.ph after emerging from Globalport’s gloomy dugout.
Up by one, the Energy Cola were coming off a 30-second timeout with a chance to close out the Batang Pier in the waning seconds when import Mike Singletary bungled a three-point attempt after almost losing the ball off the dribble.
Globalport import Markeith Cummings grabbed the rebound with still four seconds in the game. But instead of calling a timeout, he dribbled the ball and opted to pass it to a streaking Mercado.
“When Markeith Cummings got the ball, my first instinct was to call a timeout, but he didn’t. He was dribbling, dribbling, dribbling so when I got the ball in, I just tried to get the shot. Sayang,” added the 6-foot-1 Mercado, who finished the game with 16 points, five rebounds, and seven assists in Globalport’s third straight loss in the tournament.
Mercado said a loss like that is hard to accept, but at the same time, admitted it exposed the team’s immaturity at this point.
“We’ve got to do better than losing a game like that. It shows the immaturity of the team and it’s a tough game to swallow,” lamented the Biola University standout.
Globalport had everything going for it in the first three quarters as it enjoyed its biggest lead at 75-57 on a three-point shot by Cummings.
The Batang Pier entered the final period still leading, 83-68.
But the Energy Cola outscored the Batang Pier in the final canto, 30-14 to clinch their fourth win in six starts to grab a share of second place with idle Meralco Bolts.
Globalport sunk to 2-5 overall to occupy the eight and ninth spot in the standings in a tie with Barangay Ginebra with three games left in its single-round elimination schedule.
Source: http://www.spin.ph/sports/basketball/news/sol-mercado-on-late-game-lapse-we-werent-told-about-calling-a-timeout
No comments:
Post a Comment