MANILA, 4 January 2007 — Such has been the performances of these teams in the PBA Philippine Cup — Purefoods knowing to win when it should and Sta. Lucia losing when it shouldn’t.
The Chunkee Giants were near-flawless in the second half last night, fashioning out a 92-78 decision of the Realtors at the Cuneta Astrodome to make the quarterfinals outright and relegate Sta. Lucia into the wildcard phase.
Kerby Raymundo scored 25 points and Marc Pingris added 20, and both made the Realtors feel the brunt of their offense in the third period where they scored 10 each to power the Purefoods comeback from as many as 17 points down.
The Giants trailed, 19-36, and 22-39, after baskets by rookie Mark Isip and the Realtors closed out the half sitting on a 45-33 lead only to lose their form when they needed to finish off the defending champions. Raymundo and Pingris collared rebounds, ran the break and played no-nonsense defense as the Giants nibbled away at that 12-point deficit to go into the fourth period with a 63-60 lead they never relinquished.
“I just told the boys to play their hearts out in the second half,” Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio said. “I told them to have fun out there, enjoy the game even if we were trailing by 12 points.
“I think that was key, because I was able to take the pressure away from them,” Gregorio added. The Realtors couldn’t say that, though.
After playing so well in the first half, it looked like it would be a breeze for Sta. Lucia, which led this tournament for a huge part only to suffer a losing streak in the crucial point of the elimination round. Both teams finished with 10-8 card and fought for the No. 5 ranking, which Purefoods got to join Red Bull and Talk ‘N Text in the next round.
The way the Realtors played mirrored their performance in the tournament, where they started out strong, led the field way past the halfway stage only to close out the eliminations by losing six of their last eight games.
To say that Sta. Lucia was awful in the fourth quarter is an understatement, as the Realtors committed seven turnovers in the first eight minutes of the period to find themselves trailing by 17, 65-82 heading into the final 3:25.
That was the same kind of lead they enjoyed in the second quarter, as they were playing with the form that made them look like winners only to fall way short of the kind of finish they obviously envisioned.
In zooming to that 12-point halftime lead, the Realtors had just six turnovers in the first two periods. Raymundo finished wirh 25 points and snared 15 rebounds to earn Player of the Game honors, while Pingris wound up with 20 and nine boards.
Rookie Kelly Williams led Sta. Lucia with 17 and Alex Canagnot added 13 and none of the usual reliable men from the Sta. Lucia roster like Marlou Aquino and Dennis Espino contributed when needed.
Kenneth Duremdes, the 1998 MVP, was forcibly used in the final 9:02 despite a bruised shin because coach Alfrancis Chua got practically nothing from his high-profile lineup when the Giants mounted their breakaway.
Sister teams Barangay Ginebra and San Miguel, which finished 1-2 in the classifications after ending up with 13-5 records, are already in the semis, awaiting foes, and will not see action at least for another two weeks.
Wildcard action starts tomorrow at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao as records of all four teams are carried over, with Alaska going into the round as the No. 2 team, down by two games to the Realtors with its 8-10 card.
Air21 is at 7-11 and Coca-Cola 5-13, their chances of nailing the fourth quarterfinal berth, it seem, hinged on a sweep of the round for a playoff with the No. 1 team.
Only Welcoat, the league newcomer, was eliminated after the Dragons lost their last nine games and wound up with a 3-15 record in their maiden PBA tournament.
