MANILA, 14 January 2008 — Sta. Lucia not only defied pre-tournament hype, the Realtors also overdid themselves.
The Realtors extended their franchise-best win streak to eight last night and became the second outright semifinalists in the Philippine Cup after a masterful 123-106 conquest of the athletic Air21 Express at the Araneta Coliseum.
Never mentioned prominently in pre-season rankings and after setting a modest target of making just the quarterfinals automatically, the Realtors remained unrelenting and finished off the Express to close out with a 12-6 card.
That was enough to give them the second automatic Final Four slot in the company of league-leading Purefoods, a win that also knocked out idle Alaska in the semifinal running for the moment.
Air21 wound up with a 7-11 slate and will play in the wildcard as the eighth seed.
Nelbert Omolon scored 15 points in the first period and 10 in the second to finish with a career-high 40 and spearhead the Realtors, who climaxed a magnificent turnaround this season after occupying the doldrums for most of the last two years.
“They didn’t give up, though Air21 started out strong,” said an ecstatic Boyet Fernandez, Sta. Lucia’s former backup guard who is calling the shots for just the second full tournament for the Realtors.
“I give credit to my boys. They deserve to be where they are now.” Five others scored in twin digits for Fernandez, with super sophomore Kelly Williams accounting for 17, a lot of them in the most electrifying ways that got the crowd up on its feet a number of times.
It was the first time in close to 18 months that a local scored that much.
Mark Caguioa of Barangay Ginebra dropped 45 in an overtime win also over Air21 on June 4, 2006, and Sta. Lucia’s 123 points were the most in the Fernandez era and the team’s biggest output since scoring 124 in a win against FedEx on Nov. 12, 2004.
“We were just truly motivated for this game,” the 6-foot-4 Omolon told Arab News in Filipino. “And we knew that they (Express) were going to fold up in the second half, because they really had nothing to gain in this game.” Meanwhile, Talk ‘N Text stayed in the running toward forging a playoff for the last automatic quarterfinal slot, tearing a listless Barangay Ginebra to shreds, 104-87, in the second game.
Ren-Ren Ritualo hit all but one of eight attempts from three-point area to finish with 23 points and lead the Phone Pals to their ninth win in 17 games, just a victory off the idle Magnolia Beverage Masters.
The Gin Kings, the defending champions, will be the seventh seeds in the wildcard phase, which will name just one other team — either the Phone Pals or the Beverage Masters.
For that scenario to crop up, Talk ‘N Text would need to win over Coca-Cola on Wednesday at the Cuneta Astrodome to catch up with Magnolia and forge that playoff game.
An upset by the Tigers in the match that would have Asi Taulava playing against his former team for the first time since that blockbuster trade, would make the Phone Pals the natural No. 6 seeds and would give Magnolia a free ride.
“We knew for a fact that this game is very important to us,” Talk ‘N Text coach Derrick Pumaren said. “We are still in control of our immediate goal, and that is to at least make the quarterfinals.” Mark Cardona scattered 20 points coming off the bench and Anthony Washington hit 16 and grabbed 14 rebounds as the Phone Pals zoomed to double digit leads early before thwarting several Ginebra comebacks in the third period.
Ritualo also had seven rebounds and two assists, but his nine third quarter points - all coming from three-point shots - proved to be the back-breaker for the Gin Kings, who have struggled as a team despite Caguio getting back in near-perfect form.
Caguioa, who missed eight games in the eliminations, scored 22 points to pace Ginebra, which also got 21 from Jay-Jay Helterbrand but no one else in double figures after that.
