MANILA, 23 December 2006 — For Sta. Lucia and Purefoods, this scenario is nothing short of a nightmare waiting to happen on Christmas Day.
The two top teams in the PBA Philippine Cup lost to squads in the bottom tier of the standings last night and are now facing the prospects of advancing to the playoffs by coming from the pits like the sides that conquered them.
John Arigo found holes in the Sta. Lucia defense all fourth quarter long, shooting 16 of his 23 points in that span to lead Coca-Cola to a 90-85 decision of the Realtors.
It was a game the Tigers didn’t really need to win, and it could cost the Realtors dearly in the end as they will be dragged into a playoff for the last quarterfinal slot should Talk ‘N Text defeat semis qualifier Barangay Ginebra on Monday.
The Chunkee Giants later found the going rough against Alaska, blowing a 10-point lead in the middle of the payoff frame to fall, 96-92 in overtime, after Willie Miller scored 25 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and missed a triple double by just two assists.
As things have stacked up, the Realtors and the Giants wound up their elimination round schedules with 10-8 cards, with Sta. Lucia losing six of its last eight outings and Purefoods its last two.
They both will end up tied with Talk ‘N Text if Ginebra loses on Christmas and the ironic thing about it is that the Phone Pals, who are at 9-8, will be the ones to advance outright once the tiebreak is applied.
Should there be a playoff for the last quarterfinal slot, the Realtors and the Giants slug it out on Jan. 3.
“We played hard, even if it seemed that they (Realtors) needed the game more than we do,” Coca-Cola coach Binky Favis said later. “It’s important that we play each game with an objective of enjoying playing the game.
“As long as we have games to play, we’ll come out and play our hardest,” added Favis, whose wards finished with a 5-13 record and whose chance of advancing to the quarterfinals depend on a sweep of the wildcard phase.
The Tigers flaunted control right from the start, closing out the first period with a 19-15 lead, and the second eight points ahead, 43-35, before playing heady ball when it mattered to pound out the victory. From 75-all, Arigo scored in bunches, nailing a running jumper first before four straight free throws came after an Ali Peek layup for 83-80 going into the final 28.5 seconds.
Paolo Mendoza, the streak-shooting Sta. Lucia guard, then passed up on a triple attempt, which Ronnie Bughao later missed. It then led to a Peek rebounds and free throws that allowed the Tigers to seal the deal, 85-80 with 21.9 left.
Arigo made all 12 free throws awarded him, and Peek was also perfect from the 15-foot line in five tries aside from pulling down a night-high 18 rebounds and blocking three shots. The 6-foot-4 man mountain also had 19 markers.
Rookie Kelly Williams, on whose all-around game the Realtors anchored an 8-2 start to the tournament, scored 26 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead his team.
Williams’ three-pointer from dead center of the keyhole actually put the Realtors in striking distance for the last time at 78-79, before he himself fumbled on a fastbreak attempt an offensive play later which doomed Sta. Lucia.
The high-profile frontline of the Realtors composed of Dennis Espino and Marlou Aquino was good only for a combined 10 points and seven rebounds, certainly one of the reasons why Sta. Lucia lost this one.
“They had more at stake, but teams in this league have a lot of pride,” Alaska’s Tim Cone later said.
“Purefoods and Sta. Lucia would have to earn it (quarterfinal seat), because that’s the way it should be.” Regulation ended at 82-all after Miller drilled a layup with 40.2 seconds remaining.
The MVP in 2002 while with Talk ‘N Text actually scored 12 of his total in the fourth period, but missed the potential game-winning jumper with the game clock winding down.
He did make up for it, though, hitting three straight free throws to open up extension before feeding Tony dela Cruz for a wide-open jumper from deep left flank that shoved the Aces ahead to stay, 87-86, with 2:38 remaining.
Alaska actually held the Giants scoreless from the 3:01 mark until the final 23 seconds when Noy Castillo completed a three-point play for 94-89.
