James Yap was a non-entity in the first three quarters but came alive when San Mig Coffee needed him most as the Mixers scored another tight win in the 38th PBA Philippine Cup.
Yap scored 11 of his 16 points in the payoff period to lift the Mixers to a hard-fought, 82-78 victory over Globalport Batang Pier last night at the Araneta Coliseum.
Coming off a controversial, 92-91 win over Barako Bull Energy Cola, the Mixers leaned on Yap’s endgame brilliance to post their fourth win in six games and tie the Alaska Aces and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters at second place in the team standings.
Yap scored just five points in the first period then failed to score a single point in the middle quarters. As a result of Yap’s struggle, Globalport took control of the match and even built a, 63-55 edge early in the fourth.
Joe Calvin Devance and Marc Pingris kept San Mig Coffee in the game as the duo conspired in a 13-4 run that gave them a, 68-67 lead. Jason Deutchman hit a pull-up jumper to give the lead back to Globalport, 69-68, with 6:03 left.
Then came Yap’s endgame show.
Yap, who actually scored 11 of San Mig Coffee’s last 14 points, hit four straight points that netted the Mixers a, 73-69 lead. Back-to-back hits by Vic Manuel and Willie Miller sandwiching Yap’s basket cut San Mig Coffee’s lead to two, 73-75, with exactly two minutes left.
Globaport found itself on top again when Miller buried a triple over the taller Pingris, making it, 76-75 with 1:28 remaining.
Yap came to San Mig Coffee’s rescue by hitting a difficult fade-away jumper over Yee that put his team at the driver’s seat, 77-76. Miller handed the lead back to Batang Pier via two made free throws but Yap came up with yet another big basket, duplicating his previous shot over Yee as the Mixers grabbed a, 79-78 advantage with 38.8 seconds to go.
Globalport succumbed to the tremendous pressure as Miller and Manuel missed crucial attempts while San Mig Coffe turned to Mark Barocca’s crucial free throw hits to ice the win.
Miller and Manuel scored 19 and 17 for Batang Pier, which further dropped to the bottom with their sixth loss against a solitary win.
BOX SCORES
SAN MIG COFFEE (82)- Pingris 17, Yap 16, Simon 15, Barroca 11, Devance 11, De Ocampo 4, Ramos 2, Villanueva 2, Gonzales 2, Reavis 2.
GLOBALPORT (78)- Miller 19, Manuel 17, Deutchman 7, Antonio 7, Mandani 6, Guevarra 6, Vanlandingham 5, Adducul 4, Vergara 3, Al-Hussaini 2, Yee 2, Cruz 0. QUARTERSCORES: 13-19, 30-38, 50-58, 82-78.