ANTIPOLO: This one came easy.
Up against an import-less crew and with its guns blazing from inside and out, Barangay Ginebra last night found a clear path to the semifinals of the Fiesta Cup after a 113-85 annihilation of Sta. Lucia at the Ynares Center here.
Sta. Lucia management decided to send home the demanding Lee Benson on the eve of the crucial match, and the Realtors became easy pickings for the Gin Kings, who broke out of the gates hard and never looked back.
Ginebra made all but four of 14 three-point attempts in the first two periods to establish control with a 13-point halftime lead before breaking away with the same sustained effort in the second half to post the series sweep. It was a tough loss to swallow for the Realtors, who decided not to suit up the ex-convict Benson after the 6-foot-11 import made a lot of monetary demands and threatened to pull his punches once utilized.
Sta. Lucia, which won the Philippine Cup over Purefoods, trailed by as many as 33 points early in the fourth period.
“We confirmed it (that Benson was out) this morning and our problem going into the game was that the boys might relax,” Ginebra coach Jong Uichico said. “It happened before (against also-ran Welcoat) and good thing that the boys took that as a lesson.”
Ginebra didn’t have to work that hard compared to its series-opening win last Sunday, when the Kings had to survive a late surge by the Realtors led by Kelly Williams to hang on to a 92-90 win.
While Ginebra marched on, sister squad Magnolia was dragged into a you-or-me game by the Coca-Cola Tigers, who scored a pulsating 91-90 victory in the second game.
Ronjay Buenafe dropped the game-winning jumper with 7.2 seconds left and Dondon Hontiveros missed a three-pointer on the other end which could have turned things around for the Beverage Masters as both teams play the decider tomorrow.
“As long as we’re alive (in the series), we will be there fighting,” said Coca-Cola coach Binky Favis later. “We will maximize the one-day rest and be ready for another tough grind on Friday.”
Magnolia took the series opener, 99-83 and looked headed to sealing a clash with Air21 after Wesley Gonzales knocked down a triple that made it 90-89.
Alex Cabagnot scored 17 points to pace the Tigers, who got to live another day even with Jason Dixon again failing to dominate and second import Brandon Dean again held to the minimum.
With the victory, the Kings thus advanced to a best-of-seven semifinal showdown with Red Bull, a keenly awaited match-up which Uichico himself said could go all the way.
“Red Bull is really playing very well. We have to do our homework because Yeng does such a good job at preparing his team,” Uichico said. “There’s no time for rest (for us), we will get to work right away for Sunday’s game. “With Red Bull, there’s no easy series. It’s always a long, hard series,” he added. Mu experience with Yeng, even when I was still with San Miguel, is that almost always, the series we play, goes the distance.”
Starting point guard Jay-Jay Helterbrand and Junthy Valenzuela hit two triples each in the first half to key the Ginebra breakaway. After that, the Gin Kings got even hotter, answering the second half horn with the same determination to blow the Realtors off the court.
Paul Artadi came off the bench to and churned out personal conference highs of 12 points, 11 assists and six steals. He was one of five Ginebra players in twin digits with Helterbrand leading the way with 22.
Chris Alexander finished with 19 points, including some showtime jams that had the huge crowd here roaring. The 7-foot-1 import finished a break with two-handed dunk with 9:25 left which all but took the fight out of the Realtors, 92-65.
Mark Caguioa then scored four straight points to give the Gin Kings that 33-point bubble before Uichico recalled his starters to the bench, led by Alexander, one by one, and let his second-stringers do the mop-up job.
