MANILA: Not even Asi Taulava could help Coca-Cola out of the pits.
Hitting its shots from the perimeter, Sta. Lucia spoiled Taulava’s return to the Tigers last night, dealing Coca-Cola an eighth straight loss, 98-92, in the Philippine Cup eliminations at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.
Back in action after close to two months because of a severe ankle sprain, Taulava scored just eight points after hitting just one field goal and 6-of-12 attempts from the stripe.
And that was clearly the game that the Realtors were looking for Taulava to come up with as they pounced on that and improved to 6-5 overall, good for solo sixth at the moment but still out of automatic playoff range.
Kelly Williams scored 23 points and snared down 17 rebounds for the Realtors, who got a huge lift from unheralded rookie Joshua Urbiztondo, who scored 22 points after coming off the bench in the second period.
Only one team will get the boot after the double round eliminations, and the Tigers better shape up quick just to be able to get out of the cellar and make at least the wildcard phase.
Coca-Cola’s eighth straight setback matched a similar losing run still on-going for idle Barako Bull, which still has the edge on the Tigers, being at 2-10 and running ninth. Coca-Cola is at 1-11.
“I have been telling my players that our objective is to make it to the Top Five (for an automatic quarterfinal berth,” Sta. Lucia coach Boyet Fernandez said after the game. “If we manage to get a good run going and make it to the semis (outright), it would be a bonus for us.
“But right now, we are not satisfied at where we are (in sixth place),” he continued. “Making the quarterfinals (outright) is doable, we just have to arrest our weaknesses.”
The Realtors, incidentally, played without starting power forward Gabby Espinas, who is nursing a bruised hip after banging into a railing in a game in Surigao last week.
Alaska continues to lead the tournament with 10-1 slate after dealing San Miguel its first loss in its last 10 outings, a 122-116 overtime victory Wednesday night fashioned out even with two-time MVP Willie Miller being held to just four points.
Teams that finish in the top two after the eliminations get automatic rides into the semifinals, which would mean breaks that would come close to three weeks, a valuable rest going into the best-of-seven Final Four.
The Realtors scored 59 points from the perimeter, with the undrafted Urbiztondo hitting 6-of-10 triple tries to highlight their hot outside shooting.
It was actually a tight game until the middle of the third period when Williams and Urbiztondo scored 14 points between them that had the Realtors zooming to a 71-60 lead from a tight 49-48 game.
Urbiztondo was also responsible for giving the Realtors their biggest lead, 87-73, after another three-pointer heading into the final 6:23.
Coca-Cola actually remained within striking distance at 71-79, until Joseph Yeo, another steady offensive performer for the Realtors in the tournament, buried three consecutive jumpers for 98-86 heading into the final 55 seconds.
Crowd-darling Barangay Ginebra, meanwhile, tries to climb into a tie for third place today when the Gin Kings clash with Rain or Shine in a road game in Tacloban City.
A victory in their 5 p.m. encounter would put the Kings in a logjam with idle Purefoods and Talk ‘N Text at 8-4, well within striking distance of the 9-3 Beermen, heading into the crucial stages of the elimination round.
The defending champion Tropang Texters caught up with the Tender Juicy Giants after a 115-104 victory over Burger King in last night’s second game.
Mac Cardona scored 32 points and five others scored 10 or more in a balanced offensive for the Texters, who dealt the Whoppers their eighth loss in 13 games.
