Singletary feat lifts Barako Bull

MANILA, Philippines - Michael Singletary poured in a personal conference high of 43 points as he almost singlehandedly carried Barako Bull to a rousing come-from-behind 98-97 victory over Globalport in the PBA Governors Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

Singletary put in 27 points in the second half, fuelling Barako Bull’s mighty fightback from 18 points down en route to the crucial win that forged a tie between the Energy Cola and the Meralco Bolts at second place on their identical 4-2 win-loss slates.

Ronjay Buenafe provided help with seven points in the third quarter then Danny Seigle stepped up in the fourth, delivering 10 markers as Barako Bull upended Globalport, handing the Batang Pier their third straight loss and fourth in six games in all.

Globalport had a chance to salvage the game but the Batang Pier didn’t use one remaining timeout after Markeith Cummings grabbed the defensive rebound with five seconds left to play.

Cummings, who also came through with a personal conference high of 40 points, instead issued an outlet pass to Sol Mercado who missed a desperation three-point attempt from way out at the buzzer.

“I must admit we’re lucky to win this game,” said Barako Bull coach Rajko Toroman. “Globalport was the better team for three quarters. We started to do something good only in the last quarter.”

Getting an emotional high from the Globalport-San Mig Coffee brawl early on, the Batang Pier did dominate the first three periods of play, leading by as many as 18 at 75-57 with 5:15 left in the third.

Cummings was the better import in the first 36 minutes but Singletary turned things around in the payoff quarter as Barako bounced back from a rout by Petron Blaze the last time out and thus closed in on a spot in the playoffs.

Toroman said the big key was their shift to a big lineup, allowing Singletary to strike at small forward position.

“We found a five (Mick Pennisi, Dorian Peña, Eman Monfort, Singletary and Seigle) that can do something. We made a good run with our big lineup,” said Toroman.

Still trailing by 15, 68-83, at the start of the fourth quarter, Singletary and Seigle combined in a hot 17-2 run as Barako pulled even at 85 with 7:15 left in the contest.

Singletary nailed two charities then Mark Macapagal hit a three-pointer as the Energy Cola eventually surged ahead at 96-94 with 1:55 to go.

The Batang Pier committed numerous errors and made some lapses, failing to recover and eventually yielding the game.

San Mig Coffee shook off a sluggish start and outfought Barangay Ginebra in a battle at the finish, carving out an 89-86 win to climb to joint fifth place with Rain or Shine at 3-3 in the nightcap.

Marcus Blakely logged 30 points and 10 rebounds, and James Yap tallied 19 markers and nine boards while holding Mark Caguioa without a single field goal as the Mixers made up for the suspension of Marc Pingris and Joe Devance.