MANILA, 29 December 2007 — The smallest man on the court nearly ruined Sta. Lucia’s night.
His name’s Donald Dulay, the 5-foot-7 and 3/8 Fil-Am from El Camino College in Torrance, California who by halftime alone, had already tied his career-high of 13 points.
When the game ended, the Realtors’ biggest headache still ended up with the same output.
“We had a hard time stopping (Don) Dulay,” said Sta. Lucia coach Boyet Fernandez. “He was the one responsible for the penetrations, and he was giving Welcoat the energy it needs.”
Fed up with the way Welcoat’s guard had been controlling the tempo, the Realtors stepped up on defense, made the press, controlled the boards and got almost everyone involved on offense to come away with a 107-93 win last night in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
The final count may not reflect it, but the Realtors did bleed for this game despite Welcoat being considered as pre-game losers with Joe De Vance missing in action for going to the US to marry his long-time girlfriend Monica.
While De Vance was celebrating thousands of miles away, his teammates were hurting, unable to sustain the drive of a blistering first half where the Dragons surprisingly led by as much as 18 points through Dulay and Rob Wainwright.
Dulay had 13 and Wainwright 15 in the first two quarters, and Welcoat found itself up 59-48 at the half. Jut minutes earlier, the Dragons were well in command, 59-41 on a follow-up from Nic Belasco.
Welcoat, however, doesn’t possess the talent and the character to keep up the pace.
In a matter of one period, what looked like an insurmountable advantage was lost. Rookie Ryan Reyes scored 10 points in the third quarter, Nelbert Omolon had eight, and Sta. Lucia grabbed the upper-hand going into the final period 79-74.
The only time the game got interesting once more was when the count stood at 84-84. But the Realtors came through with a 13-0 run behind Marlou Aquino, who scored seven in that telling blast in an effort that defined his ability to stay in focus after being embarrassed by Joey Mente in the first half with a block that drew cheers and then jeers when a foul was called.
Overshadowed by Sta. Lucia’s come-from-behind win was the victory pulled off by Magnolia, which nearly squandered an 18-point lead to beat Air21 later in the night, 123-110.
The Beverage Masters thus kept their hopes alive for the outright semifinals slot, tying Alaska at 9-7 (win-loss) at fourth spot while dealing the Express their 10th setback in 16 outings.
But the setback was more painful for Bo Perasol, who returned to call the shots for Air21 after deliberately missing the Express’ previous game for reasons he said was because ‘my players were no more responding to me.’ The Express reacted with a 102-97 over the Coca-Cola Tigers when Perasol was not around, and it appeared like it was the break needed by Air21 to get out of a slump.
But they ran smack into a Magnolia team aiming highly at this stage of the tournament where it still has a huge chance of finishing in the Top Two.
Asked is he was contented by the way his powerhouse team is performing, Magnolia coach Siot Tanquingcen said: “We’re fair, passing lamang. We’re not that great, we’re not that poor. It’s a challenge to get everybody to get into a rhythm. Somehow we are in the thick of the semifinals race.
Enrico Villanueva stepped up to fill the void left by the injured Danny Ildefonso (right elbow), scoring 19 points off the bench on 9-of-13 shooting and snatching 11 rebounds while Danny Seigle scattered 25 points. Lordy Tugade added 18 points for Magnolia, who led biggest at 64-46. He also went 10-of-10 from the free-throw line.
The loss again negated the all-around effort of Arwind Santos. The former Far Eastern U star recorded his 13th double-double of the season with 21 points and 16 rebounds. Ranidel de Ocampo finished with 18 points while Nino Canaleta ended up with 17 points.
It was the 10th win in 16 games for Sta. Lucia and its sixth straight, tying the franchise’s longest winning streak it achieved on two occasions, the first one in 2001 when the Realtors won the Governors’ Cup.
More importantly, though, the triumph elevated the Realtors into solo second spot, moving past erstwhile co-second placer Red Bull, to enhance their chances of clinching their first-ever semifinals berth since the format was introduced years ago.
“Everybody’s stepping up,” said Fernandez after the game. “Six wins and the players really deserve all the credit. They need a rest right now because tough days are still ahead of us.” While Sta. Lucia is thinking of the automatic Final Four slot, Welcoat is already thinking of the next conference.
For the third straight conference or since they joined the league last season, the Dragons formally became the first team to be eliminated, dropping to a 3-13 slate.
Coach Leo Austria now feels that they should forget the past and think of the future.
“Alam naman nang lahat na wala na kami,” he said. “The plan is to get an import that will fit us. Sawa na rin kami sa talo.”
Kelly Williams finished with 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for the Realtors, who got a balanced contribution. Five other scored in double figures with Omolon having 19 points and Reyes ending up with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Belasco had 18 points and 13 rebounds for the Dragons, who were outrebounded 56-45 and gave away 33 points off turnovers.
