MANILA, 12 October 2006 — For being pushed so hard, Jong Uichico was glad because he and his Barangay Ginebra team will have “something new to talk about.”
Finding a foe that stayed with them all the way — and had a chance at beating them — the Gin Kings had to summon everything and be lucky at the same time last night to take a third straight win and gain solo leadership in the PBA Philippine Cup.
Ginebra survived a hard-fighting Air21 Express, 114-113, after an ex-King missed completing a four-point play which would have taken the match into an extension.
“Winning in such a hard way gives us something new to talk about,” said Uichico. “I told them at halftime, even if we were up by 10 points, that this team (Air21) could come back. They have that great capability.
“In a way, winning like this is good for the team, because it can make us grow together.”
Aris Dimaunahan, who was given to the Express as part of that much-criticized multi-player trade in the off-season, bungled a free throw that would have tied the game at 114-114 and Ronald Tubid misfired a followup at the buzzer which could have won the game outright for the Express.
The Kings were in control all night, aided by misfortunes on the Air21 roster which could lose two key players because of injuries.
Nino “KG” Canaleta, the league’s slam dunk king and the prime scoring option of the Express, fractured the bridge of his nose in a freak collision with teammate Tubid in the second quarter. He was rushed to the St. Luke’s Medical Center during the halftime break and was reportedly undergoing surgery at presstime. Mark Clemence Telan, meanwhile, sprained his right foot after scoring on a followup of his own miss late in the third period that made it 81-75 in favor of the Kings.
But the former La Salle ace and Talk ‘N Text mainstay landed on his right foot so bad that his teammates had to carry him off the floor. He did return to action for the final minutes, but played with an obvious limp.
Rookie Arwind Santos stepped up with Canaleta out, shooting 24 points and grabbing 10 rebounds while displaying a vast array of moves near the basket or far from it.
Eric Menk led the Kings with 27 points, while Mark Caguioa scattered 24.
Meanwhile, the Sta. Lucia Realtors also remained unbeaten after pounding out a 98-85 win from a depleted San Miguel side in the first game.
Dennis Espino hit the Realtors’ final four points, capped by two free throws in the final six seconds to preserve the win and improve to 2-0. The Beermen, who were without Danny Seigle and Danny Ildefonso, almost erased two 17-point deficits in the second half with a brilliant comeback, which fell just short on the way to their second straight loss.
Seigle sat out the game because of back spasms, while the 6-foot-5 Ildefonso, a two-time Most Valuable Player, missed his second straight game because of bone spurs in his right knee.
Cesar Catli, an obscure big man in the high-profile Sta. Lucia rotation, scored a career-high 16 points built around 13 markers in the second period and the Realtors were off to several twin digit leads before almost collapsing.
There were a total of five players in double digits for Chua, with Mendoza sharing team honors with Catli. But the 5-foot-10 sentinel did his damage in the final two quarters, where he scored 11 of his total, including three triples that came late in the third and early in the fourth.
After a 9-0 run gave the Realtors a 74-57 lead with 3:30 to go in the third and an Alex Cabagnot layup a 94-77 lead in the fourth with still seven minutes left, it looked like the walking wounded Beermen would never be able to recover. But Calaguio and Tenorio put San Miguel back in the fight by combining for 11 straight points that chopped down that imposing deficit to 88-94 with still 5:01 left.
