MANILA, 8 November 2007 — Sta. Lucia looked — and played — like the team that was in ‘express’ mode all of last night.
The Realtors broke out of the gates hard and never looked back, leaving the Air21 Express eating their dust in a 115-80 decision that stands as the most lopsided in the current Philippine Cup eliminations.
“It’s nice to come back from a big loss with a big win,” Sta. Lucia coach Boyet Fernandez later said.
“The team really stepped up on both ends and it was very satisfying to see.” Rookie point guard Ryan Reyes, who was drafted third overall and is seen by many as the Realtors’ savior, played a great first half, his energy rubbing off on the rest of the Sta. Lucia crew that improved to 3-2 overall. Joseph Yeo, a new recruit from Coca-Cola, and last year’s super rookie Kelly Williams completed a dominating backcourt performance for Sta. Lucia, which came into the game smarting from a 94-100 loss to Red Bull last Friday.
The Realtors ran at every chance they got, scoring 22 fastbreak points and making 19 total points off Air21 turnovers. The Express dropped to 2-3. Talk ‘N Text later snapped a three-game winning run by Red Bull, pounding out a 115-110 victory.
The Phone Pals got 20 points from Anthony Washington and double digits from four more to improve to a second-running 4-2 card.Red Bull, despite 30 Junthy Villanueva points, dropped to 3-2.
Reyes, who was picked just behind the 6-foot-7 Joe Devance (Welcoat) and the 6-foot-9 Samigue Eman (San Miguel), fired 14 points for the Realtors in his most brilliant performance thus far. “Coming off an injury, Ryan played well and gave a good account of himself,” Fernandez said, referring to an ankle sprain that slowed down the 6-foot point guard in Sta. Lucia’s past games.
So in synch was Sta. Lucia last night that defensive man Norman Gonzales came away with 17 points for team honors. Yeo, Paolo Mendoza and Marlou Aquino finished with at least 13 points each and combined for 43.
Sta. Lucia broke away from a 26-18 first quarter, getting the goods from almost everyone to take a 56-36 lead at the half, quite an uncharacteristic scoring total for the team that averaged more than 106 points in its first three games. Even the 6-foot-9 Aquino had a field day offensively. The beanpole whose multi-million peso contract expires at the end of the season, even hit a three-pointer from deep left side with the shotclock winding down, giving the Realtors a 110-70 lead and the chance for him to come up with some comic relief.
Aquino, after hitting that shot, blew at his hands to give the impression that they were hot to the delight of a good-sized Cuneta Astrodome crowd.
It was only the seventh triple in the 6-foot-9 Aquino’s career, and first since draining a trey in a game during the 2001 Governor’s Cup, the conference the Realtors won the title.
A three-pointer by Gonzales gave the Realtors their biggest lead of the game at 113-72 with 1:22 left. It was the biggest lead in a game this conference.
The 35-point winning margin was the biggest under Fernandez.
It was also the second biggest winning margin in team history, second to a 122-75 win over Coca-Cola last Jan. 7 of the 2006-07 Philippine Cup wild card phase. On the other hand, the 35-point deficit was the worst beating in Air21 history. The previous record was a 34-point loss (118-84) to Coca-Cola on Oct. 18 of the 2003 Reinforced Conference.
