MANILA: They’re not tired, they’re not spent, and they’re just wiser and better.
In essence, this is how San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen described his Beermen, who came all the way from the wildcard phase and continued to play with fire and precision to move within another victory of reaching the Philippine Cup semifinals.
The Beermen on Wednesday night played heads up on both ends and upended sister squad Barangay Ginebra, 78-77, for the crucial head start in their best-of-three series witnessed by a packed Araneta Coliseum crowd. “Playing in the wild card was a big factor for us because it toughened us up for situations like these,” said Tanquingcen, who owns a 2-0 record over Ginebra coach and personal mentor Jong Uichico in playoff matches.
Dondon Hontiveros and Danny Seigle bailed the Beermen out in the game’s most crucial stages, with Seigle hitting what proved to be the marginal short stab in the final 47.6 seconds off an assist by rookie Bonbon Custodio.
Hontiveros, after going scoreless in the first half, finished with 14, 12 of them in the third quarter. He also had 10 rebounds, while Seigle hit seven of his 10 in the fourth. Custodio scattered 10 markers.
Their brilliance came at a time when the Beermen were struggling to hit their shots after Lordy Tugade, who scored all of his 15 points in the first two periods, and Olsen Racela, all but one of his 10 in the same span, suddenly going cold.
Ginebra got an unlikely offensive anchor in Billy Mamaril, who hit a long jumper with 65 seconds to go to give the Gin Kings the lead for the last time, 77-76.
And that was when Seigle, playing with a slightly closed right eye and all, answered, as San Miguel survived a scare and can gun for the clincher today at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay. Mamaril led the Kings with 22 points and eight rebounds, while Ronald Tubid had 14 and was the last player in twin digits for Uichico.
Meanwhile, Rain or Shine, in one fleeting moment when it lost its head, could have lost its first playoff series ever.
Gabe Norwood got thrown off the court because of a flagrant foul 2 late in the third quarter, and Sta. Lucia cruised to a fight-marred 101-84 victory over the Elasto Painters which could be all the Realtors needed to take the fight out of Rain or Shine.
Norwood, the sensational Fil-American rookie who turned the fortunes of this franchise around and put the Painters in their first playoff series, will likely miss the second game of the best-of-three series scheduled today.
And that will leave the Painters severely crippled and with very little chance of forging a decider considering how seasoned and driven the defending champions Realtors are.
Joseph Yeo and Nelbert Omolon combined for 56 points, all but 12 of them coming from the second period on as the Realtors posted several commanding leads to post the convincing win.
Omolon shot 11-of-17 from the field to finish with 30 and Yeo had 26 in a brilliant 1-2 scoring punch for the Realtors, who moved to within a victory of advancing to the semifinals and stay on course of becoming the first team in 24 years, or since Great Taste in 1985, to repeat as all-Filipino champions.
It was also Omolon and Yeo who got the goat of Norwood, who threw the ball at Omolon and later on got entangled with Yeo with 5:55 left in the third period that was enough for officials to can the Rain or Shine rookie.
In another development, Yeng Guiao, who resigned as Red Bull coach at the end of last year, has come to terms with Burger King for the Fiesta Cup that opens on Feb. 28. A winner of five titles with Swift and Red Bull, Guiao will take over the Whoppers, formerly Air21, from Bo Perasol, who steered the franchise to second place in the Fiesta Cup last season. “We have already agreed in principle to a two-year deal,” Guiao told Arab News over the phone yesterday. “Only the minor kinks are left to be ironed out.”
