Saturday, October 07, 2006 Realtors down Air21; Barakos blast SMB
Sta. Lucia coach Alfrancis Chua said he understands why his team wasn’t ranked among the pre-season favorites. He certainly wasn’t happy about it but admitted it will keep him motivated.
“That’s a challenge for me. I promised this team will rise to the top step by step starting with this one,” proclaimed the fiery coach after the Realtors 96-88 over the Air 21 Express victory Friday night in the PBA Talk ‘N Text Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
In the second game, Red Bull Barakos grabbed the solo lead with an 84-79 victory over the San Miguel Beermen.
From the looks of it, the future looks good for the Realtors this season.
Against the Express, Sta. Lucia’s new recruits led by Kelly Williams showed a lot of promise. They also blended well with veteran stars Dennis Espino, Kenneth Duremdes and Marlou Aquino, which should indicate Chua has discovered the right mix that could transform the Realtors into a title contender.
Without a doubt the young warriors carried the fight for the Realtors, who managed to keep pace with Air 21’s up-tempo game to Chua’s surprise.
Nelbert Omolon, a three-year pro, led an outstanding show by the Sta. Lucia’s young turks, turning in a game-high 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Highlight
But the highlight play-of-the-game was delivered by the 6-foot-5 Williams, the top pick overall of the 2006 Rookie Draft.
With the Realtors trailing by one late in the second quarter, the Fil-Am rookie took an alley-oop pass from Alex Cabagnot and completed the play with a hard slam over reigning two-time slam-dunk champion Nino Canaleta that brought the house down.
Asked how he would call that sequence, Williams quickly replied: “That was a wait-for-the-next-dunk play.”
Kidding or no kidding aside, the hardworking forward said he was already happy before the game started and thanked God.
“I’ve waited for so long to get this opportunity,” said Williams, whose mother the former Andrea Castro hails from Cebu.
Williams, who was born in Detroit, Michigan, finished with 11 points, grabbed 14 boards and had two blocks in 38 minutes of action.
“Seeing how they’ve ranked us should stoke a fire in the hearts of all our players,” said Williams.
Mark Isip, the sixth overall pick in the Draft, scored 15 points, all in the first half to get things going for the Realtors. Cabagnot, in an effort to atone for his off-season misgivings, also came up with a gem of a show, scoring 15 points and dishing off seven assists in the game, which was tied after the end of each of the first three quarters.
After Air 21’s Homer Se hit an off-balanced fadeaway shot to end the third quarter tied at 71, the Realtors opened the fourth with 14-3 blast to take control the rest of the way. (PBA Media Bureau)
