MANILA — Boyet Fernandez is proving his point.
Playing defense Fernandez-style, Sta. Lucia last night zoomed to a 2-0 lead in its best-of-seven series with Purefoods for the Philippine Cup after a 112-101 decision keyed by another fourth quarter breakaway at the Araneta Coliseum.
But the rookie coach, whom many felt talked with a lot of brash after winning the series opener on Friday, sounded a little subdued just when he authored another swashbuckling triumph that gave him all the reasons to be boastful.
“A 2-0 lead is nothing if you are playing best-of-seven,” said Fernandez, who boldly said on Friday that he thinks Purefoods would have a hard time beating them in the series with the way they play defense.
“We will take it one game at a time and we know that Purefoods will come back hard.”
Defense again played a vital part, but not as much as their offense as the Realtors scored 31 points in the fourth quarter to post the win pulling away to move within two more victories of the franchise’s first all-Filipino crown.
Should they go all the way, this will just be the Realtors’ second championship since joining the league in 1993 with a team built around a young rookie named Jun Limpot.
Game 2 was tight for three quarters and was very physical in its entirety, with Roger Yap of Purefoods being accused by Fernandez later of deliberately trying to harm Kelly Williams in the dying minutes and the game already in the bag.
“Tapos na ang game, bakit pa niya susuntukin (the game is over, he didn’t have to punch him),” Fernandez said later after he and Yap created a commotion in center court after the game. “I’m just protecting Kelly. He is a good guy and I will protect him or any of my players no matter what.
“What he ( Yap ) did was he wanted Kelly to retaliate so he could get thrown out and suspended.”
The game actually got out of hand in the first half, when Purefoods opted to play with the same ruggedness applied by the Realtors in Game 1.
And then the game got out of hand for the Tender Juicy Giants in the fourth period, when the Realtors opened up with a 12-2 run that turned an 81-all affair into a 93-83 lead Purefoods never got close to overhauling.
Purefoods crept to within 89-93, but Dennis Miranda, the oft-maligned point guard never known for his outside shot, drained a long jumper to beat the 24-second clock before Joseph Yeo connected on a triple for 98-89 with just 4:15 left.
The Realtors didn’t need another great fourth quarter from Williams, who actually hurt Purefoods in the third by scoring 14 of his 23 points that kept the Realtors in the game,
For the Giants, they lost yet another game after allowing more than 100 points to their opponents. Sta. Lucia already had 100 markers with more than four minutes left after a Williams lay-up.
History is now kind as far as the Realtors are concerned, for 24 of the last 29 teams ever to take 2-0 leads in a long series as this have gone on to win.
But Purefoods is no stranger to come backs as the Giants even erased a 1-3 deficit against Alaska to win the 2006 edition of this tournament.
“If there is one team that can come back from a deficit like this, it’s Purefoods,” said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio, who entered the press room later still wearing that smile while talking seemingly worry-free.
“We’ve done it before, twice actually,” he said. “We’re actually excited to play the next game (Game 3 on Wednesday) so we can maybe bite away at that big lead.” Nelbert Omolon had 13 points and three more finished in two digits for Fernandez.
James Yap led the Giants with 28 and Kerby Raymundo added 22. Peter June Simon came off the bench to chip in 21 for the Giants, who are looking to tie defunct Crispa with the most all-Filipino titles with five.
