Tigers, Painters stay alive

MANILA, Philippines - Sixth seed Rain or Shine and seventh-ranked Coca-Cola prevailed over lower seeded rivals in the initial stage of the wildcards to stay in the running for the quarterfinals of the 2010 PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

The Elasto Painters eased out the Air21 Express, 92-89, while the Tigers bundled out the Sta. Lucia Realtors, 100-84, to arrange another knockout match for the right to play the B-MEG Derby Ace Llamados in a best-of-five quarter series.

Sol Mercado played well despite the sad news of his father suffering a heart attack in the United States, logging 17 points, seven rebounds, five steals and four assists to help the Elasto Painters get past the Express.

Meanwhile, Gary David and John Williamson put in personal tournament-best outputs and the rest of the Tigers fought with spunk to hurdle the Realtors and thus also stay in the hunt for a quarters seat.

The Elasto Painters and the Tigers clash in a do-or-die game at 7 p.m. Wednesday also at the Big Dome.

It’s a rematch of the RoS-Coke duel in the same stage of the most recent Philippine Cup wildcards. The Elasto Painters prevailed then to advance to the quarters versus eventual champions the Purefoods Giants (now the Llamados).

“It’s a tough one. We have to play better as a team. We have to stop their shooters and neutralize their big men if we want to win,” said Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia.

Coca-Cola coach Bo Perasol expected his team to go flat-out for revenge against the team which also beat them in a crucial meeting in the closing game of the Fiesta Conference elims phase.

David and Williamson sizzled with 32 and 30 points to lead the Tigers past a Sta. Lucia team unable to check a slump that started after trading away marquee players Kelly Williams and Ryan Reyes.

Sources said it’s Sta. Lucia’s farewell game in the pro league as the franchise will soon be taken over by the Manila Electric Company (Meralco).

The Robles-Santos franchise joined the league in 1993, winning titles in the 2001 Governors Cup and the 2007-08 Philippine Cup.

David went 2-of-3 from the three-point area, 7-of-11 from the two-point zone and 12-of-15 from the stripe putting the Tigers back on track after losing to the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters which earned the right to face the Ginebra Kings for an outright seat in the quarters.

“The key for us tonight is our desire. We strove to get the win that kept us in contention for the next round,” said David, adding four rebounds, two assists and one steal in a highly productive performance.