Source: By Nelson Beltran (The Philippine Star) You might also find My Weekend Journal or SkimChix - travel with me... interesting. Please click
MANILA, Philippines - Purefoods is back in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup finals, ranged against a team – Alaska Milk – it has an old score to settle with.
The Giants arranged a third all-Filipino final showdown with the Aces as they completed an upset of the powerhouse San Miguel squad in their semifinal series with a stirring 87-78 win at the Araneta Coliseum last night.
For the third straight game, the Giants humbled the Beermen with a gutsy stand to win their best-of-seven series at 4-2.
Purefoods, thus, made the all-Filipino finals for the second time in three years and for the 12th time in franchise history, getting a crack at a fifth crown versus Alaska.
“It’s so nice to be back in the finals after a three-year dry spell. It’s like a rain after a long, long summer,” said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio.
The top-seeded Alaska team and No. 3 Purefoods start their best-of-seven titular series with Game One Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Giants are out to sustain their searing playoff run, looking to avenge losses to the Aces in their two previous all-Filipino confrontations.
“This is really answered prayers. We were witnesses to a great miracle in this series. We all know how strong that team is and how good a coach they have,” said Gregorio of their conquest of the second-seeded San Miguel side.
“At the start of the playoffs, I told myself I would be happy reaching the semis. But my players wanted more. And we knew all along that it doesn’t take the best players to win, it’s the players who give their best and that’s what we have in this team,” Gregorio added.
“Beating San Miguel is like winning a championship. But that is not enough. We’ve got past the second-seeded team and we’re looking forward to also make it past the top seed. We hope we still have the legs to prevail,” Gregorio also said.
So impressive were the Giants in the last three games, they led the Beermen from start to finish in each of those contests.
And like in Games Four and Five, starters James Yap, Roger Yap, Marc Pingris, Rafi Reavis and Kerby Raymundo gave Purefoods a tremendous lift in dishing out splendid jobs.
Roger Yap and Pingris both churned out double-double numbers while James Yap, Reavis and Raymundo contributed double-digit outputs.
Roger Yap had 20 points and 11 rebounds, Pingris 15 points and 13 rebounds, James Yap 18 points, five rebounds and three assists, Reavis 12 points and eight rebounds, and Raymundo 11 points, four rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks.
The Purefoods starters badly outscored their SMB counterparts, 76-39.
The Giants erected a 20-point spread late in the first half and showed tremendous staying power, repelling repeated comeback attempts by the Beermen.
San Miguel failed to shake off Purefoods, unable to get a shot at back-to-back championships after its triumphant finish in the 2008-09 Fiesta Conference.
More efficient on both ends, the Giants raced to a 20-point lead at 48-28 before settling for a 48-32 spread at halftime.
Purefoods established control early while hitting at a 48.6-percent clip, 12 percent better than San Miguel’s shooting in the first 24 minutes of play.
The Giants also dominated the boards, 25-18, on tremendous hustles.
Arwind Santos sank two free throws and converted an undergoal stab to narrow their deficit to 16 at the half.
The Giants were holding a slim 26-23 lead when they launched a searing attack to pull away at 48-28.
NOTES: Olsen Racela established a new league record for most number of steals in a game Friday, stealing nine times to improve by one the old mark shared by Orly delos Santos, Willie Generalao and Johnny Abarrientos. Racela is seventh in the all-time steals ladder with 732, trailing leader Abarrientos (1341), Ramon Fernandez (1302), Bernard Fabiosa, Robert Jaworski, Dindo Pumaren and Yoyong Martirez. Abarrientos twice got eight steals in a game, first with Alaska in 2001 then with Coca-Cola in 2004.
The scores:
First Game
Purefoods 87 – R. Yap 20, J. Yap 18, Pingris 15, Reavis 12, Raymundo 11, Canaleta 7, Artadi 3, Allado 1, Maierhofer 0, Simon 0, Adducul 0.
San Miguel 78 – Santos 20, Cortez 17, Hontiveros 14, Racela 10, Washington 4, Seigle 4, Villanueva 3, Custodio 2, Ildefonso 2, Peña 2, Miranda 0, Pennisi 0.
Quarterscores: 22-16, 48-32, 64-56, 87-78
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