SAN MIGUEL & STA. LUCIA SCORE, SHARE GRP A LEAD

Old hands shine for Beermen; Realtors bank on new recruits
Philippine Basketball Association website
Tuesday, 18 September 2007

San Miguel Beer and Sta. Lucia Realty used searing final-half runs to roll past separate foes Monday night in the 2007 PBA Pre-Season Tournament at the Marikina Sports Complex.

The Beermen whipped the Coca-Cola Tigers, 126-116, while the Realtors drubbed the Red Bull Barakos, 132-114, as they stayed on equal footing in Group A with two wins apiece.

Joseph Yeo, Paolo Mendoza, Bitoy Omolon and Melvin Mamaclay each scored at least 17 points as the Realtors overwhelmed the Barakos in their debut in the pre-season event.

San Miguel seized the lead at halftime on a buzzer-beating alley-oop shot by Danny Seigle, and the Beermen raged on in the final half en route to the 10-point win.

The Tigers took control in the early goings, enjoying double-digit spreads but couldn’t keep in step as the Beermen pressed their bid in the second half.

Danny Ildefonso and Rico Villanueva imposed their strength underneath and the Beermen toughened up on defense as they made their back-breaking run in the fourth quarter.

The Tigers practically bombed out of contention for the one-game Finale on a second straight loss.

Cesar Catli, a transferee from Sta. Lucia, went 6-of-9 from three-point land but limped out of the court with 6:15 left to play on a bad fall.

Ildefonso, Seigle and Villanueva each scored at least 17 with Dondon Hontiveros, LA Tenorio and Lordy Tugade all adding 11 or more. Ali Peek paced the Tigers with 22.

The Tigers got off to a strong start, racing to a 26-17 lead but the Beermen were quick to pull even at 26-all on a run highlighted by back-to-back hits by Tugade.

Coca-Cola closed the first quarter at 30-28 and again established control at 44-33 behind the exploits of Ricky Calimag and Catli.

But the Beermen clawed their way back through the efforts of Ildefonso and Villanueva. SMB eventually pulled ahead on a buzzer-beating shot by Seigle off an alley-oop pass by Jonas Villanueva. (NC)