Long falls short but SMB wins

Art Long moved in and out and in and out of the court due to fouls but Shea Seals stayed there long enough to play a solid game throughout as San Miguel Beer rapped Talk N Text, 84-72, to formalize its entry into the Samsung PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarterfinals last night at the Astrodome.

Seals scored 33 points — his best output in the league thus far — as he emerged San Miguel’s biggest hero in the team’s fourth straight win and sixth in nine games in all.

That assured the Beermen of a spot in the quarters and sent the team closer to gaining a twice-to-beat privilege in the Final Eight.

"Shea’s been our stabilizer and he’s stepping up when we need him the most just like tonight. Attitude and skills-wise, wala ka nang hahanapin pa sa kanya," said San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen. Long played for only 28 minutes while saddled with fouls, including another technical he incurred for continuously complaining on a referee’s call. Nonetheless, the temperamental import put in his share, including six straight points he made in the last of a last-ditch attempt by Talk N Text to turn the game around in the closing minutes.

"My personal opinion here is that Long is misunderstood. He’s like Shaq (O’Neal) who’s so dominant. Dahil sa sobrang lakas, iyong mga konting tulak lang niya natatawagan," said Tanquingcen.

Jerald Honeycutt and Pete Mickeal did their job for Talk N Text but the team still went short in its bid, suffering its first three successive defeats under American coach Bill Bayno.

Talk N Text fell to eighth place with a 4-5 win-loss slate.

Purefoods, out to get a little respect, ripped tournament leader Red Bull with a fluid game that resulted in a 91-84 decision of the Thunder in the curtain-raiser.

The Hotdogs, who eventually bowed out after FedEx defeated Sta. Lucia Friday night, played as if more than pride had been at stake and completed the upset that came rather late.

Still, it was a victory to marvel at, but one that would hardly make a dent in the current standings with the Thunder assuring themselves of the top seeding in the quarterfinals on the result of the Sta. Lucia-FedEx game.

The Hotdogs, who will wind up their elimination round schedule opposite Shell on Friday, put an end to a franchise record six-game losing streak, tying the Barangay Ginebra Kings at 2-7.

"We’re going out in style," said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio, whose personal chase of cementing a place in history with a second straight championship in his maiden season on the bench suffered a blow with that losing streak which was the longest by any team for the year.

Red Bull did not play with the full complement of its imports in the second half as Tony Lang sat out majority of the third period and the whole fourth with a sore back. The former Duke Blue Devil watched the rest of the game lying on his chest.