MANILA — No Marc Pingris and Joe Devance, no problem for the San Mig Coffee Mixers. Despite the suspensions of their two starters for their involvement in last Wednesday's brawl against the GlobalPort Batang Pier, the Mixers showed they still had enough firepower and defensive toughness to prevail over the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings, 89-86, Sunday night in the PBA Governors Cup at the jampacked Smart Araneta Coliseum. Ginebra also missed two frontliners in Japeth Aguilar and Kerby Raymundo due to injuries. Two-time MVP James Yap sizzled on both ends of the court while import Marcus Blakely was his usual explosive self as the Mixers collected their third win in six outings, tying idle Rain or Shine for fifth to sixth place in the standings. Blakely led the Mixers with 30 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. Playing for 37 minutes with the absence of Pingris and Devance, Yap did not disappoint as he collected 19 points and nine rebounds. The San Mig triggerman was also leech-like on defense, frustrating Mark Caguioa and holding the league's reigning MVP to 0-of-11 shooting on the floor. Caguioa managed to score six points, all from free throws. San Mig head coach Tim Cone said Yap was the big difference in the game. “Probably the best defensive player on the court was James Yap,” Cone said. “He did a tremendous job tonight, and I'm really, really proud of him.” Mark Barroca put the finishing touches to the San Mig victory with two huge baskets down the stretch that doused the Kings' comeback hopes. Barroca finished with 10 points. Dior Lowhorn led the Kings with 29 points and 18 rebounds. LA Tenorio was the only other King in double digits with 17 points. Ginebra suffered their fourth loss in six games, dropping into a tie for eighth to ninth place with GlobalPort. In the first match of the Sunday double-header, the Barako Bull Energy Cola clawed their way back from an 18-point third quarter deficit to stun the GlobalPort Batang Pier, 98-97. Import Mike Singletary exploded for 43 points, 27 of them in the second half, to lead the Energy Cola to their fourth win in six games, climbing into a tie for second to third place with the Meralco Bolts. Veteran forward Danny Seigle also played a key role for Barako Bull in the fourth quarter as he and Singletary combined for 24 points in that period. Seigle finished with 10 points. With their team down, 75-57, Singletary and Seigle led a huge Barako Bull rally to come to within two, 83-85, with still 7:50 left. Barako Bull finally grabbed the lead, 96-94, on a triple by Mark Macapagal with 1:55 left. After GlobalPort's Sol Mercado's split his charities and Jay Washington scored on an undergoal stab to give GlobalPort back the lead, 97-96, Barako Bull's Eman Monfort converted two free throws to push the Energy Cola back on top, 98-97. After Singletary missed a three-point attempt, GlobalPort had a chance to win the game when import Markeith Cummings grabbed the rebound with about four ticks left to play. But GlobalPort inexplicably failed to call a timeout to bring the ball down. Instead, Cummings hurled the ball to a streaking Mercado who heaved a last-second three-point shot that clanked off the rim.
