MANILA, 25 June 2007 — Derrick Pumaren thinks it’s still far from over. Siot Tanquingcen, on the other hand, just got closer.
Talk ‘N Text and San Miguel Beer fashioned out contrasting victories last night as the Phone Pals took a 2-1 lead over defending champion Red Bull after a 106-98 win in their side of the PBA Fiesta Cup semifinals at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Beermen finally snapped out of their stupor and won for the first time in their duel with Alaska , 91-81, to creep to within 2-1 and get back in the best-of-seven series which the Aces threatened to blow wide open after a 25-point Game 2 romp.
“We still can’t celebrate, a 2-1 lead does not guarantee you anything,” Pumaren told scribes a few moments after the win. “It’s still far from over. We have to maintain the attitude that we have at the moment.
“There will be no room for us to let our guard down one bit.” Talk ‘N Text also took a similar lead against Barangay Ginebra in the Philippine Cup semifinals, only to lose the next three games and bow out of the title chase. The Gin Kings went on to win the tournament.
The Phone Pals, the series-opening losers, 101-107, broke away in the third quarter behind 11 Mac Cardona points, turning a 52-54 halftime deficit into an 86-68 lead entering the final frame. It was the second straight victory for Talk ‘N Text, which also played a great second half on Friday night to wrest control of Game 2 and eventually, this series which many thought would be dominated by the Bulls.
Cardona, after resetting his career-high Friday night with 34 points, completed the first double-double of his young PBA career with 28 markers and 10 rebounds as he continues to be the biggest headache as far as Red Bull is concerned.
“We know that he (Cardona) will be one of the guys who will carry us,” Pumaren added. JJ Sullinger scored 31 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to pace the Phone Pals, who can move closer toward their first title series appearance in four years with another win in Game 4 set Wednesday.
The closest the Bulls could come to was within 95-103 after Junthy Valenzuela completed a three-point plat with 2:07 to play.
But Cardona, the former La Salle standout whose left eyebrow was busted open by a wayward James Penny forearm in Game 2, put the game to bed when he stole off Warren Ybanez in the next Red Bull play and scored on a layup for 105-95.
Valenzuela went on to lead the Bulls with 22 points, but Penny was held down to just 15, playing limited minutes because of foul trouble for the second straight game.
LA Tenorio, a rookie point guard being groomed to take Olsen Racela’s spot as San Miguel’s top playmaker, delivered the shots that mattered for the Beermen, who finally broke out in the series against the Aces.
Tenorio scored 10 of his 16 points in the final period, including the key three-pointer which made it 89-81 with 77 seconds left that sealed the deal for San Miguel.
“At least we got one,” Tanquingcen said. The win came as a whiff of fresh air for the Beermen, who were practically written off for the rest of the series after being blown off the court Friday night. But it was a different San Miguel team that came out last night, as the Beermen played hard all game and frustrated the Aces to make a series out of this. Galen Young had 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Danny Ildefonso contributed 18.
