IT took a burly finishing kick for Star to finally end its dry spell.
The Hotshots took care of business in the clutch to dodge Mahindra’s upset bullet, pulling off a 104-96 victory to boost their chances of making it to the quarterfinals of the 2015 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Mark Barroca poured in a game-high 26 points, including four triples in only five attempts, to help Star as his presence on both ends of the floor in the entire game lifted his squad to the important win.
Star was finally able to arrest a four-game slide and grab solo ninth place, improving to 3-6, while Mahindra dropped to 10th with a 2-7 slate.
Star unleashed a 13-5 finishing surge in the final three minutes to take the game away emphatically and avoid a meltdown in crunch time.
“Hopefully, we’re back with this win,” said Star head coach Jason Webb. “This win wouldn’t be possible if not for the commitment of the players. They know we needed this.”
Alex Mallari likewise had a strong game for Star, scoring 20 points.
After trailing, 94-91, following a 14-4 blitz from Mahindra, Star countered with that decisive blast, jumpstarted by five straight points from Mallari off of two straight Enforcer turnovers. That made the count, 96-94, and the Hotshots never looked back.
The Hotshots held on from there as they poured in more points in the closing minute, with James Yap finishing the game with a buzzer-beating trey to add insult to injury.
These two teams are currently holding on to the last two berths in the playoffs and they would need to win most of their remaining assignments to remain in ninth and 10th places.
Blackwater (1-7) and Meralco (1-8) still have a chance and are on the outside looking in. They’re hoping that either Star or Mahindra can falter towards the end so they can have a shot of stealing a slot in the next phase.
Star owned a reasonable 87-80 lead in the middle of the fourth, but back-to-back triples from Karl Dehesa and Aldrech Ramos instantly brought Mahindra back to just a single point, 87-86, heading into the last five minutes.
Games Wednesday (Cuneta Astrodome, Pasay City):
4:15 p.m. – Meralco vs. GlobalPort
7 p.m. – San Miguel vs. NLEX