MANILA: When in doubt, going back to an old winning formula certainly helps.
Aside from its defense coming to fore, Sta. Lucia kept its belief in itself last night and rallied past Alaska , 99-86, to make Round 2 of the Fiesta Cup’s wildcard phase opposite Talk ‘N Text at the Ynares Center .
The Realtors trailed by 11 in the first half but broke away in the stretch, riding the career-high 27 points of Joseph Yeo and the rejuvenated second half play of Kelly Williams to score the win and stay on course toward a second straight title.
“I just told the boys (before the game) that we had to continue believing in ourselves,” coach Boyet Fernandez said. “We have to have the belief that we can get past the wildcard and get past Alaska in this game.”
Sta. Lucia is in a very deep hole, playing the wildcard as the No. 9 seed and not displaying the form it used to win the Philippine Cup over Purefoods.
But their defense came alive in the second half last night, especially in the final minutes as the Realtors held Alaska scoreless in the final 3:04 to win pulling away. The Phone Pals, meanwhile, advanced to face the Realtors in a you-or-me game tomorrow, winning a fight-marred match against Purefoods in the second game, 98-83 as the Tender Juicy Giants joined the Aces in an early vacation.
Jimmy Alapag had 26 points and Mac Cardona 25 to lead the Phone Pals. A total of seven technical fouls were called with 9:36 left, as the game was halted for close to 20 minutes after both benches emptied. Terrence Leather, the temperamental Talk ‘N Text import, was tossed out after incurring two technical fouls in the wild moment, first throwing the ball to the head of Jondan Salvador before chasing James Yap. Robert Sanchez came off the Purefoods bench to join the melee and was slapped with a technical foul like Enrico Villanueva, Salvador and Yap, who provoked Leather by sneaking in a cheap kick to the leg of the Talk ‘N Text import.
Ali Peek was the other Phone Pal who was slapped a T. That development could prove dire for the Phone Pals, who could end up playing the most important match of the wildcard without Leather, who was just in his second game after being ejected and fined also for two technical fouls against Barangay Ginebra. “We caught a good break today because their (Purefoods’) import was not 100%,” said Talk ‘N Text coach Chot Reyes, referring to Reda Rhalimi, who suited up despite a leg injury.
“I just hope we don’t get that bad break (if Leather will be suspended) on Friday.” Yeo scored 19 of his total in the final two periods and Kelly Williams came alive in that same stretch as the duo took the Realtors for a ride past the deposed champion Aces, who became the first team since San Miguel in 2006 to fail to defend their title by getting bumped off in the wildcard.
Williams shot five points in the first half on 2-of-11 clip from the field, and the Aces zoomed to leads of as many as 43-32 before settling for a six-point halftime lead. And just when it looked like Alaska was going to play with control in the second quarter came the explosions of Williams and Yeo, who took turns in hitting critical shots that kept the Realtors in the game.
It was nip and tuck until the game entered its stretch run as the Realtors clamped down hard on Alaska , which failed to buy a bucket in the final 3:04. Aiding the Aces’ downfall was the inability of the team to get the ball to Willie Miller when it mattered. The reigning MVP had very limited touches with the ballhog Randy Holcomb opting to take matters into his own hands. But the Alaska import coughed the ball up two crucial times and was blocked once in the height of the Sta. Lucia breakaway. He fouled out with 46 seconds to go after shooting just 18 points, grabbing seven rebounds and committing eight total errors.
