[color= rgb(255, 0, 0)]ADDUCUL BUZZER-BEATER WINS IT FOR PUREFOODS[/color]
But Alaska coach Tim Cone says they'll put game under protest
Romel Adducul got himself at the right spot at the right time and wound up saving the day for the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants.
The 6-foot-6 center received a pass from Kerby Raymundo in the lane with time running down and scored his only basket in the final three quarters of the game as time expired to lift the Giants to an 87-86 decision Wednesday night in the Smart-PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
It was a big relief for Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio, who intensely watched the final play from the sidelines.
"I had nothing to do with that last play. But I thought my prayers were answered," offered Gregorio.
The Purefoods coach admitted he thought they had the game all wrapped up especially when the Giants opened a 19-point lead (36-17) on successive 3-pointers by James Yap and Brandon Cablay early in the second quarter.
"But Alaska has so much pride and almost turned the game around with their excellent defense," Gregorio said.
James Yap scored 23 points, Cablay added 19 and Raymundo tallied 15 and 11 rebounds - his fifth double-double in the conference -- for the Giants, who wound up the first round of eliminations with an 8-1 (win-loss) record.
Cablay, who was drafted by Alaska in 2003 and played for the Aces in his first three seasons, came up with his highest output in a game since tallying 22 for Alaska in a 105-95 win against Sta. Lucia on January 5, 2005.
Alaska coach Tim Cone, though, couldn't take the loss, noting crucial calls or non-calls during a couple of plays in the closing seconds.
"I just like to know how the refs could blow those two calls down the stretch. How can they justify that?" Cone told sportswriters after the game, referring to what he claims were crucial violations.
"That's horrible. In fairness to the league they've got to give that game to us," said Cone, adding they will place the game under protest.
Cone believed Raymundo committed a traveling violation before tossing the ball to Adducul. A few second before that, the whole Alaska bench also believed possession should have been awarded to them when Cablay, in a jumpball situation with the Aces' Sonny Thoss, ended up with the ball in his hands after the referee's toss.
When asked whether he thought Raymundo had travelled, Gregorio replied: "My eye were closed."
Undoubtedly, it was painful loss for the Aces who trailed by 17 points (48-65) late in the third quarter but rallied furiously behind Willie Miller, Jeffrey Cariaso, Mike Cortez and Reynel Hugnatan.
A 12-2 run to open the fourth quarter propelled the Aces to a 73-69 lead. They held an 86-82 lead with still 2:12 remaining but they missed crucial shots and threw away important possessions down the wire.
Miller finished with 18 points, Hugnatan and Cariaso had 15 apiece and Cortez had 12 and nine assists for Alaska which closed out its first round campaign with a 4-4 mark.
Alaska has until 12 noon of Thursday to formally file a protest with the Commissioner's Office and present the required P20,000 protest cash bond. (DBC)
The scores:
Purefoods 87 - Yap J 23, Cablay 19, Raymundo 15, Simon 13, Pingris 9, Lanete 4, Adducul 4, Sanz 0, Salvador 0, Yee 0.
Alaska 86 - Miller 18, Hugnatan 15, Cariaso 15, Cortez 12, Thoss 6, Ferriols 6, dela Cruz 5, Quinahan 4, Bono 3, Cabatu 2, Capus 0, Laure 0.
Quarterscores: 30-12, 46-32, 67-61, 87-86
STA. LUCIA NIPS WELCOAT ON ESPINO FREE THROW
Realtors even slate at 4-4 alongside with Aces
Wednesday, 21 November 2007
Sta. Lucia hit the .500 percentage mark for the first time this season as the Realtors scored their first back-to-back victories after beating the Welcoat Dragons by the thinnest of margins Wednesday night at the Araneta Coliseum.
Dennis Espino nailed a charity with six-tenths of a second left, and the Realtors overcame the fierce-fighting Dragons, 84-83, to catch up with the Alaska Milk Aces at fifth place nearing the halfway point of the 2007-08 Smart PBA Philippine Cup eliminations.
"Although Dennis missed his first foul shot, I still believed he can make the second one. I believed he can bail us out, so much so that I designed our last play for him," said Sta. Lucia coach Boyet Fernandez.
With the count tied at 83-all and with 4.1 ticks left, the Realtors went to their team captain who gallantly attacked the defenses of Joe Devance and Jay-R Reyes, drawing a foul in the process.
His first foul shot rimmed out but the second one hit the target, sending the Realtors to a frenzied celebration as they notched a follow-up win on their 34-point rout of the Coca-Cola Tigers the last time out.
They jacked up their record to 4-4 while stopping the Welcoat run to two games and relegating the Dragons to eighth place at 3-5.
The Dragons got back into the game on a 10-1 run capped by a Ryan Arana three-pointer that made it 83-all with 4.1 ticks to go.
The Realtors banked heavily on treys by Joseph Yeo, Kelly Williams and Denok Miranda as they reestablished control in the fourth quarter after squandering double-digit spreads in the third period.
"It was a character test for us which we survived," said Fernandez.
"We took control early but threw it away as we played their tempo. We took command again by playing our own tempo in the last quarter," Fernandez added.
Williams went 3-of-4 from the three-point area and finished with a double-double game with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Nic Belasco and Reyes had their own back-to-back games but the Dragons simply fell short in their bid to stretch their franchise-record run.
Belasco tied his career-high 23 rebounds - the most by any player this season so far. He also scored 10 points and dished out one assist.
Reyes had 17 points and 16 rebounds but ended up the goat on his last-second foul on Espino.
The Realtors shot a decent 40.8 percent from the field to neutralize the Dragons' domination off the boards.
Welcoat outrebounded Sta. Lucia, 65-44. (NC)
The scores:
Sta. Lucia 84 - Williams 18, Espino 14, Yeo 13, Miranda 10, Omolon 8, Reyes 7, Daa 6, Gonzales 5, Mamaclay 3, Aquino 0, Mendoza 0.
Welcoat 83 - Reyes 17, Lopez 15, Arana 10, Ibanes 10, Belasco 10, Gelig 8, Dulay 6, Devance 4, Baguion 3, Ballesteros 0, Sta. Maria 0, Mente 0.
Quarterscores: 22-19, 34-30, 57-53, 84-83
