QUEZON CITY, Philippines (Eagle News) – Two Marks personified the fighting spirit of the Star Hotshots to secure an 86-73 victory over the Mahindra Enforcers in the 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup eliminations on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Playing with its backs against the wall, guards Mark Barroca and Mark Cruz delivered when it mattered for the Hotshots of Jason Webb to give the rookie head coach his first playoffs appearance.
Cruz, the rookie guard from Letran College, put up a stellar performance in crunch time, scoring 14 points with three long-range bombs in the pivotal fourth quarter en route to a a career-high total of 18 points.
Barroca suffered a cut below his right eyebrow during the first quarter to shut his right eye tight, but managed to inspire his teammates to victory, albeit scoring just five points in the match.
Ricardo Ratliffe led Star with 24 points and 16 rebounds, while Ian Sangalang added 12 markers.
The win secured Star’s spot in the quarterfinals with a twice-to-beat disadvantage against either Meralco or San Miguel, while snapping its back-to-back losing skid.
Webb alluded to both men, as he spoke well of both Marks – Barroca and Cruz – for their larger than life performances in the most crucial match of its campaign.
“[Barroca] could only see off one eye, but he played his heart out. Our smallest guy had to be called upon to play well today. Although he’s small in stature, he has a big heart,” said Webb. “I’m so lucky to be coaching these guys. It’s their God-given heart that they showed in the game.”
“We were more concerned about today. We live in the present. We’re lucky that today’s present was a gift,” he added.
Both squads fought nip and tuck throughout most of the match, until Mahindra failed to sink their field goals since Aldrech Ramos buried a foul-line jumper with 10:03 left in the game.
Cruz took over in either scoring or assisting to his fellow Hotshots during their 14-1 to build their largest lead at 13, 71-58, and never looked back. It was their largest in the game since taking an 13-point, 32-19, advantage late in the first period.
Import Augustus Gilchrist, Aldrech Ramos and Karl Dehesa finished with 13 points each for Mahindra, which ended its Commissioner’s Cup campaign with six straight losses and has yet to make it into the playoffs in two seasons in the PBA.
Photo credit: Peter Baltazar / Sports On Air
