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Waylon Galvez
Purefoods and Sta. Lucia Realty came through with impressive wins in Game Three against their respective Final Four opponents last night in the PBA Smart-Philippine Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
Kelly Williams scored 21 of his team-high 27 points in the second half as the Realtors defeated the Alaska Aces, 91-82, in the first game to take a 2-1 lead in their semifinal showdown.
The Giants, on the other hand, bounced back from their recent setback as they downed Red Bull, 99-90, in the second game to also grab a 2-1 advantage in their series.
Ace gunner James Yap scored 29 points to lead Purefoods while veteran forward Kerby Raymundo added 27. Forward Marc Pingris came through with double-double 13 points and 19 rebounds.
"Playing Red Bull is always tough, we don’t know what to expect," Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio, whose team dropped a 93-89 setback in Game Two, said. "I thought we made the adjustment are necessary.
Williams made a three-point play of a foul by Willie Miller that gave them the lead for good, 81-79, with 3:01 left in the game.
Dennis Espino and Nelbert Omolon also made timely baskets for Sta. Lucia, a team aiming for their first trip to the all-Filipino finals, to take a 2-1 lead in its Final Four showdown with Alaska.
Espino finished with 18 points and eight rebounds, while Omolon added 13 and 12 boards. Williams, who shot 10-of-21 from the field, also had 12 boards, while Yeo came through with 17 and seven assists.
The Realtors try to take a 3-1 lead when they face the Aces anew in game Four of the semifinals tomorrow at the same venue.
Alaska won Game One over the weekend, 107-94, but Sta. Lucia leveled the series at 1-1 following an 86-77 win in Game Two last Wednesday.
"I think the boys deserved the win," said Boyet Fernandez, who is only in his second conference as Sta. Lucia mentor. "We just have to keep on playing, almost everybody stepped up."
"Kelly really stepped up. He’s not scoring in the first and second quarters, but he took over during the third and fourth quarters," he added.
After Williams’ three-point play, Miller split his free throws, but Sta. Lucia countered with back-to-back baskets – a follow-up shot by Espino and a breakaway lay-up by Omolon from a turnover by Alaska – for an 85-80 lead, 1:15 to play.
Then the Realtors got a big break when center Sonny Thoss, who made the first of a pair of foul shots off a loose ball foul by Espino, got his shot nullified by referee Boy Cruz at the 1:20 mark of the game.
Cruz instead called John Ferriols to take the free throws and he missed both.
"I was just really shocked," Alaska coach Tim Cone said. "I don’t know if it’s a right call or not. But it’s not a fair call. I have the most respect for him (Cruz). I think we all have an off-night. It was unacceptable."
First Game
Sta. Lucia 91 — Williams 27, Espino 18, Yeo 17, Omolon 13, Miranda 6, Aquino 5, Reyes 3, Gonzales 2, Mamaclay 0, Coronel 0, Daa 0.
Alaska 82 — Miller 28, Ferriols 17, Cortez 10, Thoss 9, Bono 7, Cariaso 5, Laure 4, Del Cruz 2, Quinahan 0.
Quarters: 17-21; 36-41; 61-61; 91-82.
Sta. Lucia 17 19 25 30 — 91
Alaska 21 20 20 21 — 82
Second Game
Purefoods 99 — Yap J. 29, Raymundo 27, Pingris 13, Lanete 10, Simon 7, Salvador 4, Adducul 4, Castillo 3, Yap R. 2, Larong 0, Yee 0.
Red Bull 90 — Valenzuela 26, Baguio 14, Pennisi 12, Adriano 10, Cruz 7, Sharma 6, Duncil 5, Hrabak 4, Bugia 3, Ybanez 3.
Quarters: 28-24; 51-43; 77-68; 99-90.
Purefoods 28 23 26 22 — 99
Red Bull 24 19 25 22 — 90
Source: http://www.mb.com.ph/SPRT20080202116043.html
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