MANILA, 22 October 2007 — For the second straight night, powerhouse Magnolia struggled before winning and Sta. Lucia blew control and went down on its knees.
The Beverage Masters regained a piece of the Philippine Cup lead last night, getting two crucial jumpers from Dondon Hontiveros in the final 66 seconds that keyed a 101-96 decision of the Realtors at the Araneta Coliseum.
It was the second straight win for Magnolia, whose rock-solid squad encountered rough sailing yet again, to tie idle Purefoods for the lead.
And it was also the second straight loss for the Realtors, who had complete control of the match until going dry in the final 2:10, losing in pretty much the same way they did in their debut when they blew a 16-point lead in a 95-86 loss to Purefoods.
Hontiveros was decked by a wild Dennis Espino elbow with 1:18 left, and this spurred the streak-shooting guard no end, canning those jumpers when the Beverage Masters desperately needed them.
“Not really,” Hontiveros said when asked if that cheap shot made him go after the entire Sta. Lucia team with his heroics. “I just felt at the start of the fourth quarter that I had my rhythm going and I felt good taking my shots.”
He was feeling good, all right, hitting all five of his attempts in the period to finish with 14 in that stretch and go on to share scoring honors with Danny Seigle with 18. Hontiveros also had eight assists and Seigle 13 rebounds for the Beverage Masters.
Sta. Lucia was ahead, 96-93, after two Ryan Reyes free throws with 2:10 left. But the Realtors failed to buy a bucket after that with Espino missing the last two of eight total flubbed free throws when he drove the lane to get a foul from Seigle with 1:18 left and connect on the kisser of Hontiveros.
Hontiveros nailed the first of those jumpers just 12 seconds after that. And after Espino failed to handle a Kelly Williams pass underneath, he hit a long one with 26.8 left that opened up a 99-96 Magnolia lead. Williams then threw up a three-pointer that hit nothing but air and Olsen Racela was sent to the stripe by a duty Joseph Yeo foul for the final count.
Incidentally, Sta. Lucia aided its own downfall, plucking Marlou Aquino out of the contest midway the final period with the Realtors ahead, 87-81. He was never put back in despite going 7-fot-11 from the field to finish with 19 markers.
In the second game, Air21 broke into the win column, holding off Alaska , 102-101, in overtime behind the brilliance of Ranidel de Ocampo and sophomore forward Arwind Santos.
De Ocampo and Santos finished with 19 points each to pace the Express, highlighting great offensive nights by hitting key triples late in the fourth quarter and a chunk of Air21’s production in extra time.
The win, the first in two games for the athletic Express, negated another sensational night for reigning MVP Willie Miller, who scored 33 points to single-handedly keep the Aces in the game and give them a legitimate shot at winning.
Miller scored 35 points in the Aces’ debut, a 106-113 loss to Talk ‘N Text last Wednesday, but Alaska , the reigning Fiesta Cup champion, still slumped to their second straight loss last night. Santos and De Ocampo also combined for 17 rebounds and six assists, while Homer Se completed a double-double with 17 points and 10 boards. The Tender Juicy Giants, meanwhile, drubbed Talk ‘N Text, 112-95, in the tournament’s first out-of-town game Saturday night at the Lamberto Macias gym in Dumaguete. Kerby Raymundo, Marc Pingris and reigning MVP James Yap combined for 64 of the Giants’ output as Purefoods dealt the Phone Pals a rude awakening.
