MANILA: Anthony Johnson wants to stay and keep playing, and last night, he did everything to make sure that he does.
The wiry Sta. Lucia import finished with 42 points and a career-high 24 rebounds to power the Realtors to a 94-88 victory over Coca-Cola in their KO wildcard game and into the semifinals of the PBA Fiesta Cup that starts tomorrow at the Araneta Coliseum.
“He told me before the game that I should schedule practice for tomorrow (Saturday) because he wants to keep playing and doesn’t want to go home yet,” coach Boyet Fernandez told reporters. “The way he played showed that he can back up his words.
“What can I say about my import? He’s simply one of the best in this conference.”
Johnson scored 10 of his total in the fourth period, the biggest basket coming in the final 2:11 mark when he followed up a missed lay-up by Dennis Miranda with a two-handed slam which made it 89-84.
He also had a crucial save of possession for the Realtors before scoring on a double-pumping running jumper off Asi Taulava which put Sta. Lucia beyond reach, 91-86 heading into the final 31.7 seconds.
Johnson scored in twin digits in each of the last three periods, giving the Realtors the offensive lift that they needed with Kelly Williams missing his sixth straight game. Sta. Lucia has so far won just two of those six games, but enough to make the team advance.
Fernandez, though, is hoping that his Realtors would survive one more round, referring to the quarterfinals, to give Williams time to return. Williams has been decommissioned because of a mysterious blood disease since the All-Star Break and has actually been declared out for the rest of the season.
Survival for them would depend on how they hold up against Burger King, the No. 4 seed which took out Alaska last Wednesday at the start of the wildcard.
And while Sta. Lucia needed a gargantuan effort from its import to move on, Purefoods found little need for Marquin Chandler later in the night.
The Tender Juicy Giants won out in a double overtime game against Talk ‘N Text that was full of bizarre endgame twists to advance opposite Rain or Shine in a separate series that also starts tomorrow.
James Yap, still in a bout with the flu, drilled two free throws with 2.2 seconds left in the second extension to seal a 126-123 victory over the Tropang Texters and win out in a game that seemingly did not want to see an end.
Kerby Raymundo paced the Giants with 33 points, including a Hail Mary triple with 2.5 seconds left which forged the first extra session at 100-all.
And after the Giants took a 12-point lead with 1:45 left in the first overtime, the Texters wiped out that deficit with four straight triples, the last three coming from Ren-Ren Ritualo as the game was tied for the last time at 114. Talk ‘N Text actually had a 123-120 lead with 1:23 remaining after a Harvey Carey basket, but the Giants didn’t lose their poise and scored the game’s last six points inside the final 32.4 seconds to pound out the classic of a win.
Yap , who along with six of his teammates are suffering from the flu, scored four of those points to finish with 21.
“Unbelievable game,” Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio, still pale-faced, said during the customary winning coach’s interview. “We didn’t give up until the end and there were a lot of instances where we could have just rolled over and died. “But because of our determination to stay alive, we were able to pull through.”
Gregorio was also asked about the sub-par effort of his import, who fouled out with still 3:51 left in the fourth quarter after scoring just 12 points, grabbing just four rebounds and having six assists.
“He definitely struggled today, and I will be evaluating his performance,” Gregorio said of Chandler . “But we will play Sunday (tomorrow). I will just have to talk to him and tell him that his locals bailed him out.”
Rashad Bell led the Texters with 29 points and Mac Cardona added 23 as Talk ‘N Text ended its season together with Alaska , the first time in the history of the league that the finalists in the previous conference both failed to reach at least the quarterfinals.
