MANILA: With a recovered brilliance this deep in the tournament, the magical ride for Sta. Lucia continues.
The Realtors, the lowest ranked team in the wildcard phase, ripped Talk ‘N Text last night, 111-96, to barge into the Fiesta Cup quarterfinals and keep alive their aspirations of the franchise’s first-ever back-to-back championships.
Lee Benson, in what he said was his final game, finished with 27 points and 26 rebounds, and Joseph Yeo reset his career-high for the second straight game with 29 as the Realtors remained perfect in four games this season at the Ynares Center here.
“We will do our best to talk to him and convince him to stay,” coach Boyet Fernandez told Arab News. “The way he played tonight, I think it’s a no-brainer that we will be sticking with him.”
Benson is reportedly dead-set on leaving to pursue higher-paying opportunities back in the United States . He was also reportedly unhappy with the way the team has implemented a strict policy with regards to his curfew.
“I really am not privy to the details on (his salary),” Fernandez said. “Only management knows that and only management can solve that, should that be true.” Fernandez said that if management fails to convince the 6-foot-11 ex-convict to stay, his squad will be playing all-Filipino in Game 1 of their best-of-three series with Barangay Ginebra tomorrow at the Cuneta Astrodome.
“Given the little time that we have, we really don’t have a choice.”
Magnolia and Coca-Cola clash in the other quarterfinal pairing.
Incidentally, the Tigers have brought in a new small import in the person of Brandon Dean, a former Arkansas standout in the US NCAA who was never drafted in the NBA and bounced around several leagues and teams, including the Harlem Globetrotters. So dominating was Benson that he literally shut down Terrence Leather, whom he held to just 15 points and to zero in the fourth period when the Realtors, the reigning Philippine Cup champs, broke away.
He sealed his 20-20 game as early as the 1:43 mark of the third period, when he tipped in a Dennis Miranda miss for 71-59, his 21st point and 23rd rebound. And it was a performance that the temperamental Leather didn’t come close to matching.
Leather was specifically told by management and coaching staff to hold his emotions down for the game. Problem was, he also left his intensity at home and came out listless, dooming the Phone Pals. Jimmy Alapag and Ren-Ren Ritualo carried the fight for the Phone Pals, finishing with 30 and 26 points, respectively, as Talk ‘N Text managed to stay within striking distance even with the Realtors playing with super hot form.
Ritualo had five triples in the fourth period, including two straight which put the Phone Pals in contention for the last time, 86-92, going into the final 3:25.
But that would prove to be the Phone Pals last gasp, as Yeo completed the kill by scoring seven unanswered points for a comfortable 13-point bubble, 99-86, entering the final 2:40. Dean takes over the efficient Donald Copeland, who had to fly home in a huff last week after helping the Tigers to an outright playoff berth. Copeland will be attending a long-drawn custody hearing back in the United States and sought permission of the team.
Dean was measured at a shade under six feet yesterday even though he is listed as 6-foot-2. He has literally trotted the basketball landscape since graduating from Arkansas in 2002.
He was never drafted by any National Basketball Association team but attended tryouts for New Jersey and Atlanta before playing in Harlem and having stops in Venezuela, the D-League and the Continental Basketball Association.
After averaging 27 points, five assists and four rebounds a game for the Ouachita Parish High School , Dean signed up with Arkansas in 1998 and even made the SEC all-star team that toured Japan the following year.
His best collegiate season was during his senior year when he turned in averages of 12.2 points and close to three assists per contest that earned him a spot in the Pro Summer League with the Nets.
Dean didn’t make that team and instead, was drafted in the third round by the Grand Rapids Hoops in the CBA, the 22nd pick overall, only to join the Globetrotters in the fall of 2002.
He tried entering the NBA again in 2006 by joining the Rocky Mountain Revue league with the Hawks despite a forgettable 2005 that saw him being waived by the Trotamundos de Carabobo team in Venezuela .
Dean’s last team in the D-League were the Colorado 14ers, who let him go last January. He found his way to the CBA again, this time with the Oklahoma Cavalry, which he helped to the championship with averages of 14 points and 4.2 assists in 21 games.
Incidentally, Coca-Cola also put former Most Valuable Player Kenneth Duremdes on the unrestricted free agents list with the right to receive salary along with Mac Caceres, according to the PBA.
