MANILA, 28 May 2007 — Probably just a month ago, no one would have imagined things to be this way.
Talk ‘N Text defeated yet another foe and Barangay Ginebra dropped another game last night as the Phone Pals have suddenly found themselves in the thick of the fight for an automatic semifinal berth in the PBA Fiesta Cup which many thought the Gin Kings already had a lock on.
The Phone Pals got a combined 28 points in the third period form JJ Sullinger and Mac Cardona in a 114-102 decision of Sta. Lucia for a share of second spot, precisely where the Kings are now after going down, 101-98, opposite San Miguel.
There are now three sides - Talk ‘N Text, the Kings and idle Alaska - with 11-6 slates, half-a-game behind pace-setting defending champion Red Bull’s 12-5 card with all having one game left in their respective elimination round assignments.
The Bulls have Coca-Cola as their last foe and there have been reports going around that Tigers’ import Jeff Varem is on the way out, while the Kings are at a disadvantage, having lost their two games against the Phone Pals and the Aces.
If Ginebra , Alaska and the Phone Pals all end up tied after the elims for the No. 2 spot, the Kings will get the boot in the tiebreak and will be out of the playoff picture for the second outright semis spot.
And for a time, this didn’t seem possible after the Kings had led the elimination round until three weeks ago when a three-game losing streak dropped them in the standings.
The Phone Pals, too, didn’t look anywhere near the team that deserved as automatic Final Four slot, losing games here and there until they capped another four-game winning streak with their win over the Realtors last night at the Araneta Coliseum.
Talk ‘N Text has now won eight of its last nine games after getting a total of 35 points from Sullinger and 18 from Cardona, who has shown the ability to be a go-to-guy in the absence of three regulars doing their duties for the national team.
“This is a positioning game for us,” Talk ‘N Text coach Derrick Pumaren later said. “Our immediate goal remains to be an automatic quarterfinal berth. But we will grab a semis ticket if the chance presents itself.”
The Beermen, meanwhile, got a lift from Brandon Cablay and Olsen Racela, who scored the team’s final four points inside the final 29 seconds to enable San Miguel to hammer out the win.
“This is a big win for us,” said coach Siot Tanquingcen, who has worked nothing less than a miracle since taking over the Beermen three losses in the tournament. “We’re not out of the woods yet, there are other teams ahead of us in the race to the semis.”
San Miguel has two games left and still has a mathematical chance at nailing an outright semis berth despite starting out with a franchise-worst 0-7 card.
For that to happen, the Beermen must win by big margins over the Air21 Express and the Phone Pals in order to win out in the quotient.
Dorian Pena led the Beermen with 22 points and 12 rebounds and Danny Ildefonso was goodfor 18 markers.
The Realtors, who dropped to 5-12 with the loss, were led by Jamaal Williams’ 19 points.
