CEBU, Philippines - San Mig Coffee Mixers cruised to a 102-88 win over the Global Port Batang Pier in PBA Governor’s Cup action last night at the Cuneta Astrodome.
San Mig Coffee superstar James Yap scored 16 of his 22 points to erect a 51-31 lead at the halftime before an ugly riot broke out early in the third quarter.
In a report from InterAKTV.com, the free-for-all started when Marvin Hayes and San Mig import Marqus Blakely got entangled and went down on the floor. Devance came to the aid of the import by slightly pushing Hayes, who flopped to sell the call.
Nabong then came out of nowhere and pushed Devance. Pingris retaliated trying to punch Nabong, who then tried to knee the San Mig Coffee forward Nabong and Pingris were both ejected for their roles in the incident.
Both Nabong and Pingris have been summoned to appear before PBA Commissioner Chito Salud who is expected to face sanctions with their involvement in the ugly melee.
San Mig Coffee was still up by 19 points, 59-38, when the fight broke out. Global Port managed to trim down its deficit to just 13 points, 79-66, to enter the fourth quarter.
“That kind of broke our momentum. When the melee started we kinda lost our focus a bit,†said San Mig Coffee coach Tim Cone.
“From there we were kinda hanging on rather than dictating our game.â€
The Batang Pier continued to seize momentum in the final quarter, coming as close as eight points, 91-83. But timely hits from Allein Maliksi, who scored 18 points, and Devance, who added 16, sealed the deal for the Mixers.
With the win, San Mig Coffee improved its win-loss record to 2-3, tying Global Port in the standings. (FREEMAN)