MANILA, 10 December 2007 — When Purefoods defeated Welcoat in the first round of the Philippine Cup, it was a clear reflection of how tough the Giants were in a see-sawing contest.
Last night, in a game where Purefoods was trying to get back on the winning track after back-to-back losses, the Giants proved that character once more, but had to pull it off after getting one big break early in the fourth quarter.
Purefoods repeated over Welcoat, 92-80, after witnessing how Joe De Vance got careless with his foul management that put a high point in his young pro career to waste as the Giants booked their 10th win in 13 games.
“We got a big break there when De Vance fouled out,” admitted Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio after the game he knew would be tough even if the contest was between the best and the worst teams in the tournament.
De Vance finished with a career-high 25 points and could have made more had he not fouled out with still 8:49 remaining in the game. But what made that doubly frustrating was the fact that the No. 1 draft pick committed his fifth and sixth fouls only seconds apart, with coach Leo Austria getting hit by a mental block of not pulling out his prized rookie after the fifth incursion.
When De Vance sat, Purefoods was only ahead by 73-71. His sixth foul on Kerby Raymundo put the Giants’ forward to the line and knocked in both for a 75-71 lead.
Welcoat, the team which only won seven games last season, still was within striking range when Nic Belasco cut the deficit to within 78-81 on two free throws.
But there was no one really to take the role of go-to guy when Welcoact needed one in the stretch. Purefoods then unloaded an 11-2 closing run, with Raymundo hitting six straight points to highlight the assault.
Still, it was a victory that will come as a welcome relief for the Giants after being sent back to reality with back-to-back defeats. The Giants lost to the Magnolia Beverage Masters 108-86 last Nov. 30 and then to the Talk ‘N Text Phone exactly a week after 101-98. And had they again lost this time, their edge in the 10-team standings would have dropped to only half a game after manpower-crippled Red Bull upset Magnolia Saturday 94-88 to improve to 8-4 (win-loss).
In claiming the hard-earned victory, Purefoods remained on course of snatching one of two outright semifinals berths, which Gregorio said is still a long way to go. Belasco also ended up with 25 points for the Dragons, who have yet to score a victory over the Giants since joining the league last season. Welcoat lost to Purefoods in the first round, 77-87. The night, however, may have belonged to Sta. Lucia Realty, which had to bleed to score its second straight win, beating defending champion Ginebra in a thriller of a contest. Paolo Mendoza hit a fade-away jumper with 4.6 seconds left as the Realtors posted a 79-78 win. Jay-Jay Helterbrand had the shot at giving the Gin Kings the victory but missed his own jumper at the left flank after Ginebra sued for time, and Raffy Reavies’ follow-up proved to be a little bit strong. Kelly Williams was the man who triggered Sta. Lucia back into the game, scoring 14 of his 16 points in the final period. He knocked in back-to-back triples in the last two minutes as the Realtors took the upper hand at 77-76 with 1:15 to go. But Sta. Lucia had to go through scary moments after that. After Reavies’ attempt missed, the Realtors muffed two attempts — one by Nelbert Omolon and the other by Mendoza. The Ginebra forward darted home but gave up the pass to the player trailing him, Mark Caguioa. Caguioa made the teardrop shot as Ginebra seized back the lead at 78-77.
