MANILA, 12 March 2007 — Label Charles Clark as a formidable force, and Jireh Ibanez an offensive option from now on.
Riding those two personalities all game, Welcoat last night chalked up the first PBA Fiesta Cup upset after the Dragons annihilated powerhouse Sta. Lucia, 114-104, in the eliminations at the Araneta Coliseum.
Ibanez scored 25 points - which he later said were the most in his life - and Clark finished with 37 as the Dragons broke away in the third period and never looked back to win for the first time in two games.
That margin of victory tied the Welcoat franchise’s biggest in the PBA and the 114 points were the most that the newcomer Dragons scored in their short history in Asia’s first play-for-pay league.
And Ibanez had a lot to do with that, eventhough he has been known as a defensive stopper his whole career, hitting his first nine shots and contributing heavily in the telling third period where the Dragons led by as many as 25.
Clark’s 37-point, seven-rebounds, six-assist, two-steal, two-block performance may have cemented his job with the Dragons, whose 79-81 loss on opening day to Coca-Cola was blamed mainly on his pathetic debut.
Against the Tigers, Clark shot just three points in the first half and finished with just 16 and five rebounds. Last night, he was an effective go-to-guy, something that the Dragons need to survive in this tournament.
Very few actually expected the Realtors to lose, especially since they have the most intact lineup left in the conference after no one from their lineup was drafted by the national team three weeks ago.
Welcoat was so in synch that the Dragons raced to an 84-59 lead late in the third period with Sta. Lucia playing listlessly. The Realtors were paced by Rock Wilson’s 32 points, but Marlou Aquino and Paolo Mendoza finished scoreless in a combined 24 minutes in the floor.
Alaska later grabbed a piece of the early lead after Willie Miller made good coach Tim Cone’s pronouncement last week by hitting the game-winner in a 100-98 decision of debuting Barangay Ginebra.
“Willie Miller will be our scoring import for this conference,” Cone boldly predicted Wednesday night after the Aces ran roughshod over undermanned Talk ‘N Text.
“Everytime it comes down to a stretch run and it gets tight, Willie will take the big shots for us,” Cone said after last night’s victory gave the Aces a 2-0 card like idle Red Bull and Coca-Cola. The Kings, the reigning Philippine Cup champs who got their rings shortly before tipoff, rallied doggedly in the final two minutes after blowing a 14-point third quarter lead. Ginebra, which played without Jay-Jay Helterbrand and Mark Caguioa, actually regained the upper hand, 98-97, after a Rod Nealy split from the free throw line off a Rosell Ellis foul with just 20.9 seconds remaining capped an 8-0 spurt.
But Miller broke a long and cold Alaska spell, losing Ronald Tubid on the dribble before popping up for a jumper on the keyhole area that mercifully trickled in for a 99-98 lead. A free throw by Jeffrey Cariaso off a technical foul called on Ginebra for calling a timeout it didn’t have rounded out scoring and helped give the Aces their first 2-0 start in a tournament in ages.
