The Saudi Gazette
MANILA
BARANGAY Ginebra nearly blew a 14-point lead but had enough luck to beat Welcoat, 99-97, Friday night at the PBA Fiesta Conference.
The Dragons razed a commanding Kings’ lead at the start of the fourth quarter but succumbed into a maze of errors towards the end to hand Ginebra its first win in the import-reinforced conference.
For the second straight game, Rod Nealy carried the brunt of the scoring load for the Kings, scorching the Dragons with 26 points.
But it was Johnny Abarrientos who kept Ginebra above water, scoring a crucial three-pointer that doused cold water on Welcoat’s last-ditch rally. Although he scored only seven points, Abarrientos dished out nine assists and had two steals.
It was a clash between the winner and the worst finisher in the recent Philippine Cup.
“They (Dragons) may be the worst finisher in the All-Filipino but they’ve been playing well right now. We can’t take them for granted,” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico before the game.
In the first game, Sta. Lucia Realty finally showed its deadly, consistent form long expected of it as it overwhelmed a severely short-handed Purefoods squad, 102-85.
Sta. Lucia came out with one big surge after another in the second half to cruise to victory.
There was no collapse this time for the Realtors, unlike in their first two games, as they pounded the Giants in the last two quarters when Purefoods lost import Jesse King who aggravated a knee injury suffered during the team’s practice lately.
King, taken in to hold the fort while Marquin Chandler recuperates from a knee injury, failed to score a single point in the first half and Purefoods further saw doom on its horizon when he left the game early in the third period.
It was the moment the Realtors were waiting for, and they never wasted the opportunity by outscoring the Giants in the stretch 23-17 to take a commanding 73-57 spread going into the fourth quarter after a 50-40 advantage at the half.
Sta. Lucia stretched the lead to its biggest at 88-63 with 6:50 left on a basket by Kelly Williams and the Realtors had little trouble registering their first win in three games from there.
Williams, reportedly being considered for inclusion in the national team, led the Realtors with 21, and three others scored at least 10 points. All players fielded by coach Boyet Fernandez contributed.
James Yap took the scoring cudgels for the Giants but his efforts still weren’t enough. He had 21 second-half points to finish with 34, but only two other Giants scored in double figures.
King, who scored 34 in Purefoods’ 81-98 loss to Coca-Cola, only had two points.
As if the loss of Kerby Raymundo to the RP Team, and the injuries to Jun Limpot and Marc Pingris weren’t enough, the Giants marched for Friday night’s game without two more key players who were hurting -- guard Roger Yap (injured calf) and streak shooter Jun Peter Simon (back spasms).
The scores:
Sta. Lucia 102 – Williams 21, Winston 12, Omolon 12, Espino 10, Duremdes 9, Catli 8, Cabagnot 7, Gonzales 6, Mendoza 6, Calimag 4, Aquino 3, Bughao 2, Isip 2.
Purefoods 85 – Yap J. 34, Evangelista 12, Castillo 11, Salvador 8, Yee 7, Artadi 5, King 4, Bautista 2, Gamboa 2, Camaso 0.
Quarterscores: 24-16, 50-40, 73-57, 102-85.
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