MANILA, 30 October 2004 — Rich Alvarez completed a three-point play with 41.3 seconds left in overtime and the Shell Turbo Chargers went on to escape with an 80-78 cliffhanger over the Alaska Aces in the Gran Matador-PBA Philippine Cup Thursday night at the San Agustin Gym in Iloilo City.
It was the fifth consecutive victory for the amazing Turbo Chargers, who caught up with the idle Talk N Text Phone Pals in the lead with a 5-1 record. The loss was no doubt another heartbreaker for the Aces, who picked up their fifth loss in six games.
The Aces actually had a chance to tie the game after Alvarez, who finished with 12 points, gave the Shell a 79-77 lead in the extra period. Cablay, who went to the line with 24.5 seconds left on a foul by Alvarez, made it a one point game after the first free throw, but missed what could have been the tying shot from the stripe.
Ronal Tubid cornered the rebound and made one of two free throws for an 80-78 Shell lead with 16.5 seconds left.
Billy Mamaril, who frolicked in the paint and won the battle of the big men over Sonny Thoss, turned in 16 points while Tubid, Chris Calaguio and Celino Cruz added 11 apiece for the Chargers, who shot only 34 percent.
The Aces appeared to have seized the momentum when Thoss fueled a 9-0 run that shoved the Aces ahead at 49-44 late in the third quarter. However, they missed their next four field goals and committed four turnovers in a span of 4:22, allowing the Turbo Chargers to take a 51-49 lead going into the fourth period.
Both teams combined for a conference record 23 lead changes and 13 deadlocks, the last at 69-69 on two free throws by Mike Cortez to send the game into overtime.
Already afflicted with an awful start even with the presence before of Davon Harp, Mick Pennisi and Jon Ordonio, Red Bull suffered another big blow when the Department of Justice (DoJ) ordered on the immediate summary deportation proceedings against the three Fil-foreigners.
Earlier, Ginebra drew a monster game from Eric Menk to beat erstwhile unbeaten Talk N Text 91-80 at the Araneta Coliseum.
Rodney Santos provided the poise down the stretch and Andy Seigle, suiting up for the first time in the tournament, also boosted the Kings. But it was definitely Menk’s sterling all-around play spelled the difference for the Kings. “He’s been gutting it out,” said Ginebra coach Siot Tanquingcen of Menk, who has been suffering from a recurring tendonitis since the transition Fiesta Conference, which the Kings topped.
Menk wound up with 22 points and was just two rebounds shy of the league’s all-time high of 29 boards after coming into the game averaging just 7.0 points a game. He converted nine of his 13 field tries for a whopping 69.7 percent.
Santos had a big hand, too, draining three clutch triples to fuel a decisive wind-up that plucked Ginebra from a 75-71 count and into a 91-78 lead. The Phone Pals suffered their first defeat of the season with Asi Taulava, still waiting for a court decision on his plea for an injunction that would lift his indefinite suspension, helpless behind the Talk N’Text bench.
Taulava’s appeal for the injunction is now up for decision since he and league commissioner Noli Eala have testified and have been cross-examined in a Quezon City Regional Trial Court.
Eala said he testified Wednesday that there’s not enough reason and urgency on Taulava’s appeal for the injunction. Eala’s appearance in the court forced the postponement of the scheduled PBA board meeting in the day.
Still minus a court directive order, Taulava just witnessed Menk’s dominating game at the paint. Curiously, putting together just Menk’s and Adducul’s board outputs matched the 43 rebounds hauled by the entire Talk N’Text squad. Adducul had 16 rebounds, 12 points and two assists.
Meanwhile, the Coca-Cola Tigers celebrated their acquisition of Ali Peek and John Arigo with an 84-67 whipping of the FedEx Express.
Peek and Arigo made their presence felt in their first game with Coca-Cola, putting in significant numbers to help the Tigers gain solo third place in the leader board with a 4-2 win-loss card. The Express slid to seventh place at 2-3. “My worry before the game was that we’re gonna struggle since Peek and Arigo had only three practices with us. There’s no secret that this team thrives in chemistry,” said Coca-Cola coach Chot Reyes.
“But Peek and Arigo blended with the team. However, let’s not talk about Peek, Arigo and Rafi Reavis. Johnny Abarrientos shackled Renren Ritualo who I believe is the best shooter in the league today. Johnny took away Renren’s 20 points and that’s the key,” Reyes added.
