Sta. Lucia Realtors

YOUNG guns Kelly Williams and veteran Dennis Espino delivered their A-game Sunday night to power the reigning champion Sta. Lucia Realtors to a much-needed 83-80 win against the Red Bull Barakos in the PBA-KFC Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

Williams, the reigning MVP winner, scored 17 points and Dennis Espino poured in 16 points as the Realtors snapped a three-game losing streak and marked a 4-4 win-loss slate. The Barakos fell to 3-5 to join the Tigers, the Texters and the Gin Kings at the bottom with identical slate.

Espino and another veteran Marlou Aquino combined for 11 crucial points in the fourth quarter, completing the defending champions’ amazing comeback from a 19-point third quarter deficit.

With the two leading the way, the Realtors managed to post a 76-70 lead of their own and take an 82-77 cushion in the last 49.5 seconds.

“Marlou and Dennis really came up big for us tonight,” said Realtors coach Boyet Fernandez. “Coming into the game, our mind-set was to stop our skid and try and check our halfcourt offense which we performed very bad for the past few games. Good thing Marlou and Dennis stepped up.”

Red Bull’s Jeffrei Chan capped a career game with a triple to make it a two-point game and Cyrus Baguio came up with a steal against Denok Miranda in the last 11.3 seconds.

But Miranda himself harassed Celino Cruz into calling a timeout in the backcourt, a respite the Barakos did not have the luxury of.

That resulted in a technical foul and a charity Espino converted and the count stayed until the end when Cruz muffed a harried triple try inside the last 6.3 seconds.

The Realtors continued to miss guard Ryan Reyes due to back spasms.

Williams collared six of his career-high-tying 18 rebounds in the fourth.

Paolo Mendoza hit 14 points.

“Without Ryan we really needed somebody to step up,” said Fernandez. “Good thing Kelly controlled the rebounds and made stops for us and the other wing guys also stepped up.”

Gabby Espinas had a career-high-tying 20 points and a team-high 13 rebounds, Chan finished in double figures for the first time with 15 and Cyrus Baguio and Carlo Sharma had 13 and 10, respectively.

But they all faded when needed most and Red Bull, handled by Gee Abanilla while head coach Yeng Guiao is in the US, dropped to a second straight loss and a 3-5 slate.

The possibility of the Barakos dropping to another loss seemed a very remote possibility after they controlled the game for the most part, erecting a 56-37 bulge after opening the second half with an 8-0 run.

Sta. Lucia would keep plodding on, however, with its second unit stoking the comeback.

Norman Gonzales, who got eight points, highlighted a 14-2 run, ending the third with seven straight points and Christian Coronel capped it with a follow-up that made it a very manageable 60-65 game.

It ws Aquino’s turn to fire up SLR in the fourth period by scoring all his six points, spiked by a banked shot that gave the Realtors a 70-67 lead.

Chan’s three-point play tied the count for the last time at 70, but Nelbert Omolon’s undergoal stab, Espino’s charities and Mendoza’s lean-in jumper made sure SLR would stay ahead.

That wind-up was in stark contrast to the way the game started, with Red Bull seizing control through a 12-2 run ending the first quarter for a 24-14 lead.

The Barakos actually committed six of their 23 turnovers in the second period, but still managed to stay ahead 48-37, with Sharma and Espinas doing the most damage.

Individual Scores:

Sta. Lucia 83 - Williams 17, Espino 16, Mendoza 14, Omolon 9, Gonzales 8, Aquino 6, Yeo 4, Jaime 3, Gregorio 2, Coronel 2, Miranda 2, Daa 0.

Red Bull 80 - Espinas 20, Chan 15, Baguio 13, Sharma 10, Rodiguez 5, Hubalde 4, Duncil 3, Ybanez  3, Hrabak 3, Najorda 2, Cruz 2, Membrere 0.

Quarterscores: 14-24, 37-48, 60-65, 83-80.