MANILA, 16 December 2006 — This one could really scare the heck out of the PBA Philippine Cup field.
With all cylinders humming, the powerhouse Barangay Ginebra offensive machine ran over a hapless Sta. Lucia side last night, a 109-89 decision of the Realtors not really telling how impressive the victory was and how ugly the vanquished looked.
The Gin Kings connected from afar early, penetrated with impunity and settled the outcome right in the first period after a 35-9 lead proved too much for the Realtors to overcome.
And it meant not only a sixth straight victory in a 12-4 card for the Kings, but also at least a playoff for the second automatic berth in the semifinals, one that looked so possible for Sta. Lucia early in the tournament. The Realtors lost for the seventh time in 17 matches, their spot in the playoffs now only reserved in the quarterfinals after leading the tournament for more than the first half of the elimination round and looking an invincible lot. Sunday Salvacion and Mark Caguioa hurt the Realtors with treys upon treys right after the opening tip, and the Realtors never really know what hit them as they fell behind by as many as 37 points at one stage.
“It was a game where the boys really came out hard,” said coach Jong Uichico, his rock-solid crew finally playing above expectations. “This is a good sign because the team showed its desire to win.” And win big the Kings did, as the team they humbled at the Araneta Coliseum last night was certainly no patsy but one which looked like it didn’t belong to this league at all.
Still, the message has been sent across the rest of the field, with the Kings sure to get better if they make the semifinals outright because of the two to three-week break that goes with it.
While Ginebra waltzed past the Realtors and looks ready to skip the first round of the playoffs, Alaska scraped past Air21 that kept the Aces firmly entrenched in the wild card phase.
And the Aces had to do it with coach Tim Cone surprisingly putting a tantrum that undeniably made his team rally from 16 points down to post a 100-98 decision of the Express in the first game.
Cone refused to ‘coach’ in the second half after the Aces fell behind, 44-60, leaving deputies Dicky Bachmann and Jojo Lastimosa to call the shots at the start of the third period.
The outspoken American just sat on the Alaska bench, not showing any emotions at all even at the height of a torrid comeback that had the Aces taking the lead for the first time at 96-95 after a Willie Miller layup.
“I think the difference tonight is that I did not coach,” Cone said in jest at the press room later on. “I was so upset in the first half that I felt the players were not responding to my coaching.
“I gave them a piece of my mind (during the halftime break) and obviously, it worked.”
Miller, the MVP in 2002 while with Talk ‘N Text, finished with 16 points, 14 in the final two periods. Tony dela Cruz was good for 11 points and the same number of boards as the Aces improved to 6-10, while Air21 also kissed its quarterfinal hopes goodbye by dropping to 7-10 overall.
