MANILA: Sta. Lucia found a way to force Barangay Ginebra to simmer down.
The Realtors Wednesday night held the Gin Kings to just 30 first half points and then cruised the rest of the way to get back in the Philippine Cup fight after scoring a 93-72 victory over the seemingly tired crowd-darlings at the Araneta Coliseum.
Kelly Williams scored 17 points in the first half alone as the Realtors took a 50-30 lead into the third period and were never headed in snapping a two-game slide and also putting a stop to a three-game winning run by Ginebra.
Sta. Lucia improved to 4-3, while Ginebra dropped out of second with a 5-2 card.
It was a letdown of a performance for the Kings, who came into the game the winners of their last three games and fresh from an 83-79 victory over Burger King in Tubod, Lanao Del Norte on Saturday.
And that was probably the reason why the Kings came out flat, feeling the fatigue of a long working weekend and the continued absence of gunslinger Mark Caguioa.
Inspired probably by the birth of his son, Williams missed a triple double by just three assists after finishing with 26 points and 14 rebounds.
“Kelly did a good job. He’s really inspired being a brand new father,” said Sta. Lucia coach Boyet Fernandez of Williams who became a father on Tuesday.
But Fernandez also praised Jason Misolas and Ryan Reyes, his hard-nosed players.
“Ryan and Jason are also worth mentioning but it’s actually a team effort,” he continued. “We prepared well for this game and we reaped good dividend.”
The Realtors opened up several 26-point spreads in the third period with the Kings coming closest at 17 points late in the quarter mainly because of several inside incursions by Eric Menk.
But the fire which gave Ginebra a 5-1 start in the tournament was obviously missing, with the Kings seemingly playing a step slower.
Menk’s 14 points led the Kings, while Ronald Tubid chipped in with 12 and JC Intal was the third and last player in twin digits for coach Jong Uichico with 10.
Cyrus Baguio, the flashy swingman who scored at least 15 points in each of the last three Ginebra victories, was held down to a harmless eight by the Sta. Lucia defense which paid special attention to him the whole game.
Meanwhile, in the first game, coach Yeng Guiao talked as if he had a newborn baby, virtually describing a 106-97 victory over Coca-Cola as little steps toward surviving this tournament.
After all the adversities that came Burger King’s way, one could readily say that the Whoppers have all but given up, especially after a 1-5 start that put them just a rung above the cellar in the standings.
“We’re not giving up in this conference,” Guiao declared in the softest tone possible. “We’re just trying to get out of the cellar and see what happens after that. I hope this is a stepping stone to getting back to our old selves.
“It’s hard to break out of a slump,” he continued. “After the Japeth (Aguilar) and Wynne (Arboleda) incidents, we will still struggle. All we want is to regain our confidence because that is the thing we need to get out of this losing streak.”
Mike Yee scored 17 of his 19 points in the fourth period, where the Whoppers outscored the Tigers, 36-22, to eventually win for the first time in more than three weeks.
The Tigers lost for the second straight night and fell to ninth place with a 1-5 card even after erasing an early 19-point deficit to even take an 80-72 lead with 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter after an Alex Cabagnot triple.
Ryan Buenafe also scored 19 points for Burger King, which finally got a relatively explosive offensive game from Gary David, who finished with 17 points.
