Saturday, November 11, 2006 Realtors beat Alaska, regain solo lead
THE prized rookie got his fiery form back and so did Sta. Lucia Realty.
Kelly Williams pointed the way and the rest of the Realtors were all too eager to oblige as they beat Alaska 101-98 last night to regain solo leadership in the Talk ‘N Text-PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
“Hindi na hilo si Kelly,” said Realtors coach Alfrancis Chua after the young man they made this year’s No. 1 rookie pick notched a game-high 24 points on top of 12 rebounds and four steals.
Williams was limited by jet lag to just eight points in a 73-92 loss to Red Bull only last Wednesday but was his usual energetic self this time in leading a balanced SLR attack that spelled doom for the gritty Aces.
Norman Gonzales, Alex Cabagnot and Dennis Espino each added at least 12 points for the Realtors, who almost squandered a 13-point fourth quarter lead but had enough poise left to escape with their seventh win in nine games, half a game ahead of Red Bull which is taking on
Air21 in Legazpi City today.
Double figures
Nic Belasco led Alaska with 20 points and 14 rebounds for his conference-leading sixth double-double while four other Aces scored in double figures but they still failed to follow up on their 122-100 win over Air21 last Sunday and dropped to a tournament-worst 2-7 slate.
“It’s nice to beat a team that is so strong, a team so organized and a team that is coached by Tim (Cone). Puro sila ‘team’ du’n,” said Chua in jest before turning more serious.
“Beating Alaska two in a row, napakasarap and, more important, nakabalik kami from that loss to Red Bull,” he explained.
“I told the boys that they should not fret about that loss dahil we’re still co-leaders. Hindi ganu’n kalaki ang nawala sa amin. I guess they took that to heart, kasi kanina, pagpasok sa court, upbeat na sila,” Chua added.
But SLR got a big scare from Alaska when the stubborn Aces came charging back from 78-91 and threatened at 90-95 and then 96-99 inside the last minute.
However, there was Sta. Lucia’s Paolo Mendoza, who finished with only five points, but had a crucial shotclock-beating triple that made it 98-90 and then Cabagnot followed suit with two charities which gave them a safe five-point spread in the final seven seconds.
Career high
Gonzales scored his career-high 20 points last April 7 also against Alaska and it seemed he was well on his way to surpassing that as early as the first half, when he scattered 17 points, on a 5-of-6 field shooting, on top of four rebounds and a steal. He was especially hot during the first quarter, when he came off the bench and scored nine straight points in the final 2:41 of the period to push SLR, which trailed by 2-9 early, on top 29-27.
His second triple of the half gave the Realtors a 39-32 lead that proved to be a good enough cushion as a Belasco-led comeback by the Aces moved the latter within 38-39 and 40-41.
Williams’ charity and Ricky Calimag’s short jumper made it a 44-40 spread for SLR at the half.
Inspired
Gonzales’ inspired performance seemed to rub off on his teammates as the likes of Cesar Catli and Cabagnot kept hitting clutch shots that stymied Alaska’s protracted rallies in the third period.
Cabagnot and Catli each drained a triple after Belasco and Jeffrey Cariaso had led the Aces’ comeback to within 57-59 from a 45-55 deficit.
Then Cabagnot and Williams spearheaded a torrid 11-3 run, capped by Catli’s triple, in the final 2:42 of the third to pluck the Realtors away from a tight 65-62 count.
Marlou Aquino’s charities and Cabagnot’s basket off a Williams steal gave SLR its first 13-point spread at 80-67.
