Mixers survive Kings; Painters ground B Pier

MANILA, Philippines - San Mig Coffee leaned on Mark Barroca’s sterling performance and the Mixers big fighting heart as they survived the Barangay Ginebra Kings and the crowd to hack out a tough 83-79 victory in the PLDT MyDSL PBA Philippine Cup at the MOA Arena in Pasay last night.

Barroca hit seven of his 10 shots for 16 points and capped his efficient all-around game with seven boards, six assists and three steals as the Coffee Mixers moved from second to last to a share of fifth with GlobalPort, Meralco, Alaska and Barako Bull at 4-7.

“He’s been our steadiest player the whole conference, he’s playing at an all-star level,” said San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone of Barroca.

San Mig Coffee’s win also snapped a six-game streak by Ginebra and negated Japeth Aguilar’s 26-point, seven-rebound, six-block and three-assist effort. Despite the loss, the crowd favorites, who fought back from a 13-point first half deficit with a big third quarter charge, remained on top at 9-2.

Earlier, rookie Alex Nuyles put in an impressive 16-point, four-rebound performance as Rain or Shine grounded a Sol Mercado-less GlobalPort, 98-87, to move to solo third heading to the final stretch of the elims.

The high-flying, lightning-quick Nuyles, who played college ball for Adamson, hit six of 11 shots on drives as he turned in his career-best output he spiked with two assists and the same number of steals.

“Coach (Yeng Guiao) always encourages me to attack the basket at every chance I get to free up our shooters like Jeff Chan, Paul Lee and the others,” said the 24-year-old Nuyles in Filipino.

It was the Elasto Painters’ eighth win against three losses as they moved up to No. 3 to close in on the pacesetting Brgy. Ginebra Kings and Petron Blaze Boosters.

It also avenged Rain or Shine’s 88-90 loss to GlobalPort in its first meeting last Dec. 8 at the with Mercado scoring 20 points.

But the top GlobalPort gunner failed to suit up yesterday with a foot injury he sustained during team practice the day before.

“It’s really a win we wanted badly because we lost to this team the first time we played them,” said Guiao. “But it would have been a more satisfying win if Sol Mercado was playing.

“We’re lucky at the same time because we prepared a game plan defending Sol, who really created problems for us the first time we played him, it was a lucky break for us,” he added.

Rain or Shine, which took an eight-point lead at the turn, pulled away in the third period as Nuyles and Jervy Cruz combined to give the Elasto Painters an 18-point lead twice, the last at 60-42 on a Gabe Norwood jumper from top of the key.

But Fil-Am Jay Washington erupted for 16 of his game-high 26 points, including a pair of triples as the Batang Pier closed the gap at 67-80 entering the final 12 minutes of the contest.

Nuyles, TY Tang and Chris Tiu took turns in the first half to help the Elasto Painters seize a 46-38 lead at the break.

Nuyles uncorked an eight-point binge in the opening quarter as Rain or Shine clung to a shaky 22-20 edge.