MANILA, 5 November 2007 — There are a couple of teams on a roll in the Philippine Cup eliminations. Sadly, defending champion and crowd-darling Barangay Ginebra is not one of them.
The Gin Kings took a fourth straight loss flush on the chin last night, and this one was the ugliest thus far after Purefoods ran roughshod over them on the way to a 103-76 victory at the Cuneta Astrodome.
Purefoods remained hot, winning for the fifth straight game to establish the franchise’s best-ever start after getting 27 points from Peter June Simon and all 12 players fielded shooting at least four.
“It’s nice to be a part of the franchise’s best start,” youthful mentor Ryan Gregorio said. “I hope it could be translated into a championship.
Ginebra, meanwhile, remained to be in a rut with Mark Caguioa and Eric Menk riding the bench because of various injuries.
Purefoods executed its offense to near-perfection, while the Kings looked very much in disarray, shooting a miserable 26-of-81 from the field for a 32.1% clip compared to the Giants’ 46.3% (38-of-82).
Mark Macapagal, the Kings best outside shooter, was ejected with 9:45 left when he was slapped two technical fouls for excessive complaining. Purefoods’ Brandon Cablay and Ginebra’s Ronald Tubid almost came to blows with eight minutes to play with the Giants ahead, 84-55. Cablay, whom the Giants got in a trade with Red Bull, tried to charge at Tubid, who hit him with an elbow in the forehead in the process. Alaska also extended its winning streak to three games, blasting Welcoat Paints earlier, 73-60, for its third straight win. The Dragons were joined by the Kings in the bottom of the 10-team field at 1-4. While the Kings lost in an ugly way, Alaska’s Tim Cone described his latest caper as an “ugly way to win,” but one which he will take anyway as the Aces continued their rise after opening up with back-to-back losses. Willie Miller, the reigning Most Valuable Player, led the Aces with 14 points, while forward John Ferriols came off the bench to add 11 to put the Aces into a three-way tie for third with Magnolia and Talk ‘N Text. Talk ‘N Text bounced back from a recent loss to Sta. Lucia by taming the rock-solid Magnolia Beverage Masters, 100-94, at the Fresnedi Sports Center in Muntinlupa City last Saturday. Alaska took the half, 43-33, but the Dragons moved within 43-47 on a three-pointer by Rob Wainwright with eight minutes left in the third period.
But Alaska refused to wilt, dropping an 18-8 bomb to take a 65-51 bubble into the fourth and practically shatter the spirits of the Dragons, who got just 11 points from No. 1 Draft pick Joe Devance.
“I like to win good games, with good ball movement, with player scoring on lay-ups. But with bodies banging, it’s hard to win this way, it’s very difficult,” said Cone.
