Thursday, September 23, 2004
‘Ghost of Busan’ visits Racela
THE closing moments of the San Miguel Beer-SBS Stars duel in Cavite City Tuesday night evoked the sad memories of the Busan Games tragedy.
There was Olsen Racela muffing two charities that should have sealed their victory, then a Korean hitman in Yung Hee Seung getting away with a potential game-stealing 3-point attempt.
San Miguel was fortunate Yung proved to be no Lee Sang Min, unable to convert the shot, allowing the Beermen to escape with a 79-77 cliffhanger at the close of the PBA-KBL Goodwill Series at the San Sebastian College-Recoletos Cavite Gym.
Bungled free throws
The Beermen were holding a precarious two-point lead when Racela took a trip to the foul line with 19 seconds left in the clock. As in Busan two years ago, the San Miguel point guard missed the two charities, giving the Koreans the opportunity to steal the game.
Getting a huge lift from their two American imports, the Kings actually dictated the tempo in the first 24 minutes of play, taking a 49-39 lead at the half.
But the Beermen returned from the halftime break with all cylinders working double time and surged ahead, 62-61, entering the final period.
And thanks to Yung’s muffed three-pointer in the closing seconds, the Beermen pulled through and denied the Kings a single win in their four-game stint in the goodwill series that also featured another Korean squad – the SK Telecom Knights.
After their game versus the FedEx Express was stopped at midstream because of the slippery floor at the EAC Gym, the Kings bowed to the Shell Turbo Chargers, then fought the Barangay Ginebra Kings to a 94-all draw.
Three losses
The Knights, meanwhile, ended up with a 1-3 won-lost record after three straight losses to the Sta. Lucia Realtors, the Coca-Cola Tigers and the Alaska Aces and a solitary win at the expenses of the Talk n Text Phone Pals.
Racela actually had a sterling performance before that boo-boo from the stripe in the closing seconds. He scored 17 points to pace the Beermen, who drew other double-digit outputs from Dondon Hontiveros with 14 and Dorian Pena with 10.
San Miguel (79 ) – Racela 17, Hontiveros 14, Pena 10, Ildefonso 8, Gahol 8, Belasco 8, Castro 6, Mente 4, Singson 3, Gamboa 1. SBS (77 ) – Dartez 21, Bunn 17, Yung 15, Yun Yang 6, Kim He 5, Yun Ho 5, Kim Sung 3, Li Dung 3, Eun 2. (PBA Media Bureau)
(September 23, 2004 issue)
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