PBA: San Mig slams struggling Ginebra

PBA: San Mig slams struggling Ginebra




LA Tenorio tries to flip one up above the outstretched arms of Marc Pingris. Photo by KC Cruz

Around 19,718 paying patrons trooped to the Smart-Araneta Coliseum for three Philippine Basketball Association games. But one of these was the spice of the evening as it featured the renewed rivalry between San Mig and Ginebra.

The fans expected a nip and tuck affair but what they got, instead, was a one-sided beat down as San Mig Coffee outclassed the Barangay Ginebra Kings, 78-68.


San Mig led by as much as 22 early in the fourth after Joe Devance hit a booming triple. Two Tenorio free throws and a jumper from Chris Ellis sliced the lead to 13 and gave life to the Ginebra crowd, but Caguioa missed on a one-hander that would have trimmed the lead to 11 with more than two minutes left on the clock. A Barroca dagger then sealed the deal for the Mixers.

"That's what we're trying to do: win games with offense and talent. But tonight, we came out and tried to win it on defense," said San Mig head coach Tim Cone.


The Kings struggled to string points together in the game with Yancy De Ocampo and Rafi Reavis tag-teaming at the center spot. Marc Pingris was also solid at the four position, giving Cone the luxury of playing Devance at small forward to overwhelm the Ginebra players on the wings.


"We played great defense tonight," said Cone. "Ginebra shot themselves in the foot for us in times during the games by missing layups and easy shots, but our defense was the key for us."

A three point basket from Mike Cortez at the 10:05 mark of the second period stopped a scoring drought for Ginebra that started in the middle of the first quarter, but Joe Devance took it right back with his own three.

Marc Pingris scored six straight points to stretch San Mig's lead to 14 at 32-18, but Mark Caguioa worked on keeping the game close by scoring six points in the second quarter. A pair of free throws from Yap punctuated a big quarter for his team, as the Mixers went into the halftime break with a 41-29 lead.


Yacy de Ocampo found PJ Simon wide open for a reverse with a little over four minutes left in the third quarter for a 51-37 lead for the Mixers. LA Tenorio countered with a basket but Simon scored again to re-establish a 14 point advanage for San Mig. Yap followed this up with one of his one million moves for a 55-39 tally.

The San Mig lead ballooned to 18 but a jumper from Caguioa cut the lead to 16 to end the third quarter, 61-45.


Simon scored on two baskets early in the fourth quarter to up their lead to 20. Rafi Reavis then made two free throws for a 67-45 lead, crushing the hopes of some Ginebra fans who started funneling out of the coliseum earlier than expected.

"It got a little sloppy in the fourth quarter but in the first three quarters, we've been really sharp," admitted Cone.


Cone was also happy with the fact that all of his injured players have returned from the sick bay. "Our last practice yesterday was the first time that we had a complete lineup," Cone said. "I put a cap on the minutes of JC (Intal) but once he has his rhythm back, he'll definitely be back to our starting lineup

San Mig limited Ginebra to only 35.8% shooting in the field. The Mixers also caused 23
turnovers, 12 of these came from Caguioa, Ellis, and Tenorio.

"That's what I've been trying to instill in this team," Cone said. "We should be a defense and rebound team first."


The multi-titled head coach stressed the importance of getting this win as they head to another big game against his former team, Alaska, this Saturday.

"We needed to get this game and get some momentum because Alaska has been on a really good run," said Cone. "We've been going at it in the past five or six games and this four five days off will help us out."

Ginebra has now lost its fifth straight game. The last time the Kings won was on October 7, when they defeated the Rain or Shine Elastopainters, 98-94.


Joe Devance was the best player of the game with 18 points, five rebounds, with a 4-of-5 shooting clip from the three point area. James Yap and PJ Simon added 14 and 13, respectively, while Pingris had 11. Caguioa tallied 16 for the Kings while Tenorio scored 12. Rookies Chris Ellis and Keith Jensen combined for 19. - Carlo Pamintuan/ Renee Fopalan/DVM, GMA News


The scores:


SANMIG COFFEE 78 - Devance 18, Yap 14, Simon 13, Pingris 11, De Ocampo 7, Barroca 6, Reavis 4, Villanueva 3, Intal 2, Gonzales 0.


GINEBRA 68 - Caguioa 16, Tenorio 12, Ellis 11, Jensen 8, Mamaril 7, Maierhofer 6, Cortez 6, Ababou 2, Espiritu 0, Wilson 0, Hatfield 0.

Quarters: 15-8, 41-29, 61-45, 78-68

Source: Gmanetwork.com