MANILA, 3 November 2007 — For the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants, the hard part has just started.
Purefoods rolled to its fourth straight win to zoom to the Philippine Cup eliminations lead last night, outlasting Welcoat, 87-77, a win which coach Ryan Gregorio said would only make life tougher for his inspired Giants.
No one wins a championship with a 4-0 card in the eliminations, Gregorio told Arab News. “We’re obviously having a good start. But I would like to caution my players that we don’t have to be affected by (our early) success.
“In the end, we have to be the ones staying alive,” the youthful mentor added. “It’s hard getting to No. 1, but its even tougher staying as No. 1. That will be our motivation.”
James Yap, the 2006 MVP married to the hottest advertising talent in the country, scored 18 of his 28 points in the fourth period when the Giants held off the game Dragons. His three-pointer ignited a telling 13-5 run that broke a 68-all tie and gave the Giants, champions here in 2005, an eight-point lead with 2:32 left, dooming the Dragons to their third loss in four outings.
Welcoat thus joined defending champion Barangay Ginebra at the bottom of the 10-team field. Sta. Lucia later on sported the same 1-3 slate after going down opposite Red Bull in the second game.
The Bulls broke open a tight game starting the halfway point of the second period, scoring several mini-spurts on the way to posting a 100-94 decision of the Realtors.
Red Bull thus won for the third straight time after losing in its debut, climbing to a share of second place with idle Magnolia, which will shoot for its fourth win opposite Talk ‘N Text at the Fresnedi gym in Muntinlupa today.
Purefoods last had a 4-0 start in 1991 with a team spearheaded by eventual four-time MVP Alvin Patrimonio, Jerry Codiñera, among others. Gregorio was playing varsity ball for the University of the Philippines then.
Raymundo finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds in a mammoth backup job, while Rommel Adducul chipped in with nine points and 10 boards in an effective role manning the slot for the Giants.
Joe Devance, the top overall pick in the Draft, scored 17 points to lead the Dragons, who have paraded a stronger team compared to their maiden season last year but have still found life tough in the pro league.
Jay-R Reyes had 14 points and Rob Wainwright 13 for the Dragons, who had crept to within 82-76 heading into the final minute after a Nic Belasco triple from dead center of the keyhole.
Cyrus Baguio, meanwhile, had 15 points, six rebounds, seven assists, two steals and three blocks in 29 minutes to lead the Bulls, who got five others scoring in twin digits.
Kelly Williams, the winner of the top rookie plum last year, paced the Realtors with 20 points, but Sta. Lucia couldn’t score a followup to a rousing upset of the Phone Pals last week after being outscored, 30-19, in the second period.
From 22-19 after the first 12 minutes, the Bulls methodically pulled away in the second period, holding the top Sta. Lucia guns in check to take a 52-38 lead at the half. They were never threatened after that.
