MANILA, 25 April 2007 — Danny Ildefonso scored 18 points on a 9-of-14 shooting from the field while Chris Calaguio and LA Tenorio came off the bench and made the big plays as San Miguel Beer last night zoomed to a third straight win after bringing down Alaska, 100-96, in the PBA Fiesta Cup eliminations which will take a break for the remainder of the week for the annual All-Star extravaganza.
The Beermen were at their elements early, building leads of as many as 16 points before hanging tough in the face of a determined Alaska rally in the stretch to improve to 4-7 overall.
Alaska, meanwhile, took its first losing streak of the tournament and dropped to fourth spot at 7-4, two full games out of the lead when elimination round action resumes on Wednesday next week.
“My players deserve all the credit,” said coach Siot Tanquingcen, who assumed head coaching chores after a 0-3 San Miguel start.
“There are still some kinks to be ironed out (even if we are on a winning streak). We have to keep improving and not settle for what we have.”
Former two-time MVP Danny Ildefonso paced the Beermen with 18 markers and import Galen Young is showing that he has truly adjusted to the San Miguel system by finishing with 16 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
Swingman Brandon Cablay actually jumpstarted the San Miguel offense by hitting 10 of his 13 points in the first quarter that boosted the Beermen to a 28-15 lead entering the second period.
An the Beermen never really lost control of the contest and were threatened only past the halfway mark of the fourth quarter when the Aces came crawling to within four.
But Olsen Racela, San Miguel’s starting point guard who is nearing the end of his career, hit two triples from there, the last proving to be the blade that slit the Aces’ collective throats for 97-90 with just 1:36 left.
LA Tenorio, the heir to Racela’s spot, contributed 11 points and a career-high nine assists with Chris Calaguio finishing as the fifth player in double digits for Tanquingcen with 13.
Rosell Ellis led the Aces with 17 markers, but Willie Miller had a truly bad day.
The former MVP, whom coach Tim Cone had described earlier in the tournament as his “scoring import,” shot a conference-low six points because of an effective defense that met him up high most of the night.
Talk ‘N Text matched San Miguel’s winning streak later in the night after JJ Sullinger and Mark Cardona scored 21 points each in a masterful 97-86 victory over struggling Coca-Cola.
The Phone Pals established leads of as many as 10 points in the first quarter but needed to play catch-up in the second half after the Tigers exploded for 32 points in the second period.
Talk ‘N Text thus improved to 6-5, while the Tigers dropped to 4-7, losers of six of their last seven games, including the last two with new import Jeff Varem in tow.
Varem, the former Chicago Bull in the National Basketball Association, was many rungs better last night, shooting 26 points and grabbing 16 rebounds for team-high marks in both departments. But the Tigers were just totally outplayed by the Phone Pals when it mattered, as Talk ‘N Text broke away entering the final five minutes, erasing a three-point deficit with ease to win pulling away. “Sustaining the momentum of back-to-back wins to make it three in a row, we can relax a bit in the next few days and still plunge back into action with an air of confidence. That’s how big this victory is for us,” said coach Derrick Pumaren.
“Like after we won two straight, the target was naturally to extend that streak,” Pumaren added. “Now, it’s no secret that we will go for four. But it will be tough because we have Red Bull next.” Ali Peek added 23 points for the Tigers and Alex Cabagnot was good for 13. But John Arigo was held to just two points and this clearly aided the Talk ‘N Text victory.
