MANILA, 30 November — Responding perfectly to coach Chot Reyes’ direction, Pop Cola Panthers moved to within a win of a championship appearance as they used a strong fourth-quarter run to dismantle Sta. Lucia Realty, 86-76, on Wednesday night in the semifinals of the PBA Governor’s Cup at the PhilSports Arena.
The Panthers went on a 12-4 run to start the fourth period and took a 74-59 lead with 7:18 to play as Pop Cola finally found the shooting touch to complement their strong defensive game.
"The last two days in practice, we spent a lot of time in shooting and doing shooting drills. We knew that we were a good defensive team but we still need to shoot to have a fighting shot against Sta. Lucia," Reyes said.
Roselle Ellis had 23 points but Nelson Asaytono gave the Panthers extra offensive spark by sinking five key baskets in the final quarter.
Ranged against smaller defenders Chris Tan and Gerard Francisco, Asaytono had all of his five points on free throws as he posted up on his mismatches to which Pop Cola used to their advantage. His last free throw off Francisco’ foul with 3:39 left gave the Panthers an 81-69 lead.
The Panthers’ umbrella defense took Damien Owens out of the scoring picture.
Owens, who averaged 23 points in the series, was limited to 12 points as he got smothered by the Panthers.
Marlou Aquino, too, was not spared from Pop Cola’s longs arms as 6-foot-8 Cris Bolado applied pressure on him, leaving Dennis Espino to do the job for the Realtors. Pop Cola can wrap up their first championship appearance since 1995 with a win tomorrow.
In another game, San Miguel Beer encountered tough resistance from Shell but the Beermen still found a way to drub the Turbochargers in overtime, 92-88, thus gaining the first seat in the finals of the Governor’s Cup. Lamont Strothers played his best game of the season on a night San Miguel badly needed one.
Stretched to the limit by the Turbochargers, the Beermen went to Strothers, who effortlessly made the clutch baskets that steered San Miguel out of danger from Shell’s relentless attacks.
Strothers finished with a season-high 54 points. He had 19 in the third canto that pushed the Beermen back in the game after they trailed by as many as 15 points in the second period.
The scores: First Game — Pop Cola 86 — Ellis 23, Hatfield 18, Juinio 17, Asaytono 13, Lastimosa 6, Morano 5, Bolado 4, Antonio 0, Ballesteros 0, Jarencio 0; Sta. Lucia 76 — Espino 23, Aquino 15, Owens 12, Francisco 8, Mendoza 6, Adriano 6, Belano 6, Del Rosario 0, Tan 0, Ortiguerra 0. Quarterscores: 19-26; 42-41; 62-55; 86-76.
Second Game: San Miguel 92 — Strothers 54, Ildefonso 19, Pena 6, Racela 6, Lago 5, Belasco 2, Victoria 0, Duat 0, Seigle 0; Shell 88 — Jones 18, Wainwright 15, Esplana 15, Hrabak 15, Jackson 10, Dela Cruz 10, Telan 5, Lim 0, Marzan 0, Paras 0, Cheng 0. Quarterscores: 24-26; 36-49; 64-59; 82-82; 92-88.
