Monday, February 18, 2008 For the Giants, it was needle's eye thru Realtors
MANILA—Defense remained to be Sta. Lucia Realtors’ main weapon as they hacked out a 112-101 win over Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants yesterday to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven championship series of the 33rd Smart-PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Realtors’ tight defense that gave little space for the Giants to maneuver continued to be coach Ryan Gregorio’s big puzzle, which he failed to solve since Game One of the series.
“I told Roger Yap after the game that why he should try to hurt Kelly Williams when the game is already over because we were leading by already 14 points. I am just protecting Kelly,” said the furious coach Boyet Fernandez.
Fernandez, who is aiming for Sta. Lucia’s second conference title after winning the 2001 Governors’ Cup, said that the attempt to hurt is geared towards spoiling his lead in the “Best Player of the Conference” honor.
“I do believe that if the referees will remain consistent, then we have no problem winning the conference. But we are still expecting Purefoods to make adjustments,” added Fernandez, who is steering the Realtors to the finals in only his second year as a coach.
“A 2-0 lead may mean nothing if we will relax. We will continue playing hard until the series is over and we will win our first All-Filipino title,” said the 36-year-old Fernandez, who played with Purefoods under coach Gregorio in 2003.
Williams topscored for the Realtors with 23 points on top of 11 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal, while Nelbert Omolon finished with 19 and two rebounds and two assists. Joseph Yeo, who also hauled down 7 rebounds and two assists, scored 16.
James Yap scored a game-high 28 points, 10 in the second quarter, while Kerby Raymundo added 22, and Peter Jun Simon had 21 points.
With the win, the Realtors seemed headed towards a big blowout as records showed that in 65 best-of-seven series, 24 of 29 teams, which took a 2-0 advantage went on to win the crown.
True to Gregorio’s fears, the Realtors won again by breaching 100-point margin which he said they should limit if the Giants want to win the title.
The 8-time champion Purefoods looked headed towards a big win when James and Kerby scored a basket each to post their biggest lead, 17-9, but Sta. Lucia’s Ryan Reyes retaliated with a three-point play off a foul by Roger to cut down the deficit to only 26-28 going to the next quarter.
Both James and Raymundo showed strong determination as they posted 10 points apiece in the first period alone and combined for 6 rebounds. However, the tight defense of the Realtors slowed the Giants offense allowing Sta. Lucia to grab the lead, 32-27, only two minutes gone in the second quarter. (FCC)
