Realtors give Aces free ride

Sta. Lucia Realty could have opted to take it easy, and a loss would not derail its entry into the Top Four.

But the Realtors had another thing in mind.

Playing with so much pride and passion, the Realtors ripped the San Miguel Beermen, 74-65, and rewarded themselves with a higher seeding in the quarterfinals – plus the respect of many – at the close of the Samsung PBA Commissioner’s Cup eliminations at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

The Sta. Lucia victory also meant the entry of Alaska Milk, instead of Coca-Cola, into the Magic Four despite a 76-80 defeat at the hands of Talk N Text earlier in the day. San Miguel could have given sister team Coca-Cola a free ride into the Top Four had it beaten Sta. Lucia.

The final standings had Red Bull at No. 1 with a 7-3 win-loss card, then Sta. Lucia second also with a 7-3 slate, followed by Alaska (6-4), San Miguel (6-4), Coca-Cola (6-4) FedEx (6-4), Talk N Text (5-5) and Shell (4-6). The Aces and the Beermen gained No. 3 and No. 4 with better quotient than the Tigers and the Express.

Thus, it will be Red Bull versus Shell, Sta. Lucia against Talk N Text, Alaska versus FedEx and San Miguel against Coca-Cola in the quarterfinals. The top four enjoy a twice-to-beat advantage in the matchups.

Playoffs begin tomorrow with the Thunder taking their first attempt at nailing a seat in the semifinals against the Turbochargers at 7 p.m. at the Cuneta Astrodome.

The Realtors play the Phone Pals Saturday, riding the momentum of a two-game streak, including their mangling of the Beermen last night.

Stephen Howard stood his ground against the returning Terquinn Mott while Chris Clay and Marlou Aquino presided over key runs by the Realtors.

Clay scored 13 of his game-high 24 points in the second quarter, fuelling a searing attack that had Sta. Lucia wiping out a 10-point deficit to take a 44-36 lead at the turn. Aquino, meanwhile, pumped in eight of his 12 points in the fourth quarter, four of which he made in a lethal eight-to-nothing run that decided the outcome of the game.

Replacing Art Long, Mott scored 21 points in his return stint for the team which he helped win the Commissioner’s Cup championship in 1999.

Earlier, Talk N Text overcame Alaska as the Phone Pals simply outmaneuvered the Aces at endgame.

Saving their best for last, the Phone Pals outscored the Aces, 8-3, in the final three minutes of play with Pete Mickeal, Jerald Honeycutt and Kenny Evans at the firing end.

Evans was scoreless in the first three quarters but made five in the final canto, including two charities that sealed their win at 80-76 with 19.8 ticks left in the clock.

Honeycutt and Mickeal combined for the bulk of Talk N Text’s productions with the two tallying 60 points, 23 rebounds and 10 assists between themselves.