Sta. Lucia makes Welcoat thinner

Sta. Lucia Realty unraveled superb passing game and awesome shooting as it smothered Welcoat Paints, 98-82, yesterday to remain in the hunt for an automatic semifinal slot in the Talk n Text PBA Philippine Cup at the Astrodome.

Kenneth Duremdes and Dennis Espino led four other teammates in double figures with 18 and 17 points, respectively, as the Realtors ended an alarming three-game skein to join Red Bull Barako at third place on their identical 10-6 win-loss slates.

Nelbert Omolon banged in 16 points while Kelly Williams, Alex Cabagnot and Paolo Mendoza combined for 32 points, helping their team hand the Dragons a seventh straight loss and 13th overall against three wins.

"Our morale sagged a bit because of three straight losses and I had to motivate the boys," said Sta. Lucia coach Alfrancis Chua in breaking their losing spell.

Responding to the challenge of their coach, the Realtors played as one cohesive unit, outdoing themselves in terms of passing.

Cabagnot handed out eight assists, Duremdes six and the entire team logged 29 dish-offs, nine more than their average. Welcoat had only 16.

But the Realtors struggled early, trailing the entre the first quarter and the early part of the second canto before Cabagnot unloaded an eight-point splurge as Sta. Lucia surged ahead at 46-42.

A series of runs anchored on Espino’s nine-point splurge in the third quarter gave Sta. Lucia double-digit leads with the biggest at 17 points.

The Realtors further put the game away from the Dragons in the fourth quarter with Duremdes and Omolon joining the fray.

Welcoat rookie Jay-R Reyes established four career highs — 19 points, 17 rebounds, five blocks and eight turnovers.

In the other game, Ren Ren Ritualo scored 25 points, including a clutch triple at endgame as Talk n Text held off Air21, 124-119, for its ninth win against seven losses. The Express slid to 7-9.