James the man for undermanned SLR

Debuting Sta. Lucia import Nate James outplayed former Duke teammate Chris Carrawell, and the Realtors bucked the absence of injured ace players Kenneth Duremdes and Dennis Espino in toppling the Alaska Aces, 82-78, in the Samsung PBA Reinforced Conference at the Philsports Arena last night.

James, a member of the 2001 Duke champion team in the US NCAA, had an explosive first half, giving Sta. Lucia an early 20-point spread which the team used as cushion against Alaska’s fourth-quarter rally.

James finished with 31 points, five rebounds, three assists and the same number of steals as against Carrawell’s 17 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three blocks. The two played together with the Blue Devils from 1996-2000.

"Ang hirap ng walang players and only hard work paid off for us. We prepared more than one week for this particular game," said Sta. Lucia coach Alfrancis Chua.

"Ang sarap ng feeling, kasi champion team ang tinalo namin," added Chua on their victory over the newly-crowned Invitational Cup champions.

The Realtors missed the services of Duremdes who is still nursing a left calf muscle injury and Espino out with a sprained ankle. Marlou Aquino also played limited time because of an injury.

Despite the absence of these key players, the Realtors played a spirited game with James getting off to a swashbuckling start, tallying 22 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals against two turnovers in the first half.

With Francis Adriano and Paolo Mendoza also stepping up at the backcourt, Sta. Lucia led by as many as 20 points at one point, 48-28, with 1:37 left in the second period.

The Aces, however, made vital adjustments to come within two at 68-70 with a little over five minutes left to play in the contest.

But James himself defused the Alaska rally, firing a trey plus a pair of charities in a seven-to-nothing run that gave the Realtors a nine-points spread at 77-68.

The Aces made a last-ditch attempt to win with a pressing defense in the final minute but eventually yielded the game on crucial misses by Carrawell.

Invitational Cup runner-up Coca-Cola played a balanced game throughout and trounced Purefoods, 97-87, in the nightcap.

Alaska had closed the gap at 78-81 when Carrawell muffed two free throws and a short jumper.

"Mahirap din talagang i-sustain ang malaking lamang dahil wala ngang tao. Si James pinag-pace ko noong third quarter dahil baka hindi matapos ang game," said Chua.