MANILA, 21 February 2008 — Ryan Gregorio did all the talking last night, and Boyet Fernandez tried so hard to keep quiet.

That was how both coaches were in the post-Game 3 interview, which saw Purefoods come away with a 118-107 victory that put the Tender Juicy Giants back on track in the Philippine Cup title series at the Araneta Coliseum.

Gregorio approved of the officiating in the roughest game of the series thus far, while Fernandez chose to shut his mouth for the first time as the Realtors’ highly-touted defense was penalized more often than not.

“I knew it all along, if they (referees) will just call it the right way, they (Realtors) will be in foul trouble for most of the night,” Gregorio explained to reporters as his team took a step toward winning a fifth all-Filipino title which would tie the all-time high.

James Yap got his rest in the early goings and exploded for 12 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, and Peter June Simon kept the Giants in the game with another brilliant effort off the bench.

Kerby Raymundo was forced to ride the bench because of fouls in the third period, and this served Purefoods in great stead as he had a lot of legs left in the crucial fourth quarter grind.

Purefoods lost the first two games of the series in the fourth quarter, when the Giants seemingly could not find the strength to keep up with the Realtors.

Last night was an entirely different case, as the Giants also shut down Kelly Williams, holding the prolific sophomore swingman to the minimum.

The 6-foot-7 Williams was held to just 10 points, his lowest output since scoring five points against Air21 last Nov. 7. He also almost failed to score in twin digits for the first time in 23 games, notching his 10th point with a free throw off Marc Pingris with 3:51 left.

Purefoods also won for the first time this conference even with its opponent scoring more than 100 points, and the Giants actually put together their biggest point total in a best-of-seven game in 18 years.

“We’ll lick our wounds tonight. Prepare again starting tomorrow,” said Sta. Lucia coach Boyet Fernandez, who deflected questions of reporters about the officiating.

“You all saw the game and I wouldn’t want to comment on it anymore.”

Elbows were flying and body checks were at their hardest as the referees almost lost a grip on the game on several occasions with players from both sides giving away cheap shots one after the other.

Even James Yap, known as one of the coolest cats in the league, had his moment, nailing Joseph Yeo with a clothesline to the nose with 52.2 seconds left and the outcome already beyond doubt.

It was actually in retaliation to a hard hack Yap received in a previous Purefoods offensive, but this one halted the game for a few minutes and even Sta. Lucia manager Buddy Encarnado was already on the floor to protest.

From 86-80 at the end of the third and with Williams in check, the Giants played it smart this time by answering every Sta. Lucia uprising through James and Roger Yap and even Raymundo when he was finally sent back into the fray.

Raymundo finished with 26 points despite being on the floor only for 30 minutes after picking up his fifth foul in the third period. “It was a blessing in disguise,” Gregorio said of Raymundo’s fifth foul.

“The battlecry before this game was to survive and stay alive,” Gregorio explained. “We showed great survival instincts tonight.”

Gregorio admitted that the win would give his fagged out squad a big psychological boost, one which the Giants desperately need as the Realtors have played them super hard in the first three games.

“Now we know that we can beat them,” Gregorio said. “That’s the most important thing. I think we now found the formula how to win.”