MANILA, 6 January 2007 — Teams that needed to stay alive did what they had to do.
And after just one playdate of the PBA Philippine Cup’s wildcard phase, the picture got so muddled that only one thing was glaring after last night — that Sta. Lucia is in so bad a shape.
The Realtors were awful, to say the least, losing to Air21, 99-121, that enabled the Express to live another day even as Coca-Cola rallied mightily to nip Alaska at the Araneta Coliseum.
All four teams in the round now have chances of advancing to the quarterfinals, a far departure from the start of the day when Sta. Lucia had the clearest path and Alaska the closest shot at the Realtors to march on.
Mark Clemence Telan presided the Express charge, shooting 22 points and grabbing 15 rebounds as Air21 took control early to never look back, improving to 8-11 overall and keeping a sweep well within sight.
Sta. Lucia needs to win just one game in this round to more or less assure itself of advancing.
But the way the Realtors, who set the pace for most part of the eliminations and were odds-on picks to prevail, came out last night left so much to be desired, the team seemingly playing without focus and desire.
“It’s a good win, but it only means that we get to fight another day,” a humble Bo Perasol of Air21 later said. “We know that we need to pour out all our energy because we’re dead once we lose.” Coca-Cola was another team that lived on after Dennis Miranda nailed a three-pointer that beat the buzzer for a 99-98 overtime decision of Alaska in the first game.
The Tigers’ starting guard capped an 18-point, seven-rebound and six-assist night with the game-winner, which was made possible after an Allan Salangsang pass as Coke stayed alive in the hunt for the final quarterfinal berth.
Salangsang actually started the Coca-Cola rally from six points down in the final minute of extension, hitting two straight triples before setting up Miranda for the shot of the night as the Tigers improved their carry-over record to 6-13.
Coca-Cola would still need to win its last two games in the wildcard phase to earn a playoff with the top team for the last quarterfinal berth, quite a long task, but one that is achievable, if coach Binky Favis is to be believed.
“Yes, it can be achieved, even though we won just five games in the entire elimination round,” Favis later said. “I just told the boys to enjoy playing the game, work hard and who knows, we might get lucky.
“Tonight was one of those nights,” Favis added. “We enjoyed the game, we worked hard and we got lucky in the end.” Alaska, the pre-season champion, dropped to 8-11, its only chance of advancing after the loss is for Sta. Lucia to not win a game in this round and for the Aces to sweep their last two assignments to earn a playoff.
John Arigo led the Tigers with 24 points, William Antonio shot 11 in the third period to finish with 17, while Peek chipped in with 15, topped by two free throws in the final eight seconds of regulation that forged overtime at 87.
There were a total of eight players scoring 10 or more for the Express with rookie Arwind Santos backing up Telan with 20 points and 13 boards. Ranidel de Ocampo also finished with double-double figures for Air21 with 12 and 11.
Wynne Arboleda hit two triples in crucial stages of the game, the first giving the Express a 78-47 lead heading into the final six minutes of the third period, and the other with 3:38 left in the fourth that restored a 106-90 lead. He finished with 19 points, six rebounds and 10 assists.
If Sta. Lucia fails to win a single game, and Air21 sweeps its last two assignments, the Express would nail the final quarterfinal slot.
Another scenario would be for the Tigers to sweep their remaining two games and force Sta. Lucia into a playoff for the right to face a well-rested Red Bull squad in the quarters.
As things stand, Barangay Ginebra and San Miguel are already in the semifinals, with the Barako, Talk ‘N Text and Purefoods, which ripped the Realtors in a KO game on Wednesday, are already in the quarterfinals. The Phone Pals and the defending champion Chunkee Giants are paired in the other bracket, the winner of which will advance to clash with the Kings in a best-of-seven semifinal series.
