MANILA, 14 May 2007 — Even Purefoods couldn’t lose this one.
After not being able to close out opponents in their last three games, the Tender Juicy Giants last night used a 25-point halftime lead as buffer to turn back a hard-fighting Barangay Ginebra side, 117-105, in the PBA Fiesta Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Peter June Simon led a three-sided battering ram that did the damage on the Gin Kings early, shooting 23 of his 31 points in the first two quarters as Purefoods got back in the thick of the playoff fight after rising to 5-10.
For Ginebra, the loss was its second straight counting a 97-91 setback suffered at the hands of the Alaska Aces on Friday. But the Gin Kings still kept a grip of the top spot at 10-5 but are now just a win ahead of idle Air21.
Alaska, on the other hand, failed to gain a share of the lead earlier after stumbling in the fourth quarter of a 94-90 loss to the Coca-Cola Tigers.
Former Chicago Bull Jeff Varem scored 22 points and grabbed 18 rebounds for the Tigers, who improved to 6-8 with the win and kept their chances of booking an outright quarterfinal seat alive.
Purefoods import Marquin Chandler and James Yap added 30 points each, making it the first time in ages that three players have scored in the 30s in the league.
Purefoods, which finished second behind Red Bull here last year, had lost its last three games by a combined margin of only seven points.
Rod Nealy and Ronald Tubid, with a cut in the right eyebrow and a bruised rotator calf and all, tried to rally the Kings back from a 46-71 deficit at the turn, only to see their efforts fall short in the face of a frenzied Purefoods shooting.
Nealy went on to finish with 32 points and 14 rebounds for Ginebra, while Tubid chipped in with a career-high 30 markers.
The best that Ginebra could do was come within 94-98 with 8:04 left in the fourth period, before Yap completed a three-point play off Billy Mamaril to get the Purefoods offensive going once again.
Yap scored nine points in the fourth quarter, including four in a minor spurt that actually decided the contest, 110-102, heading into the final 2:22.
The Tigers trailed for most of the game, needing all their defensive resolve in the fourth period to complete the come-from-behind win.
Will Antonio nailed two crucial three-pointers in the fourth, and Varem was a steady sight from the free throw line as the Tigers erased a 14-point third quarter deficit to deal Alaska a truly painful setback that few really expected.
Alaska had come into the game as the solid favorite after that masterful conquest of the Kings in Antipolo. And for most of the game, it looked like the Aces were really in the groove until the fourth quarter came.
The Aces were held to paltry numbers in the first nine minutes of the fourth, and the Tigers steadily got back in the game and never relinquished the lead after taking it fior the first time at 84-83 after two Antonio free throws.
Ellis went on to lead the Aces by shooting 22 points and grabbing nine rebounds before fouling out. Willie Miller, Jeffrey Cariaso, Nic Belasco and Sonny Thoss shot 12 or more.
Thoss actually had 10 of his 12 points in the first period, which the Aces closed out sitting on a 33-21 lead.
And it looked like it would be a breeze for the Aces as they kept control and Coca-Cola not being able score until the final 9:48 when John Arigo made it 63-75.
Ali Peek chipped in with 19 points and Alex Cabagnot returned from sick bay to shoot 18 and issue nine feeds. Arigo also finished with 18 markers.
Mike Cortez returned from a seven-month layoff because of knee surgery, playing 11 minutes and contributing four points.
