Espino lifts SLR past Alaska

Dennis Espino banged in an awkward shot from the arc at the buzzer to force an extra period and Sta. Lucia went on to fashion out a 100-99 overtime squeaker over Alaska that guaranteed the team a twice-to-beat edge in the PBA Governors Cup quarterfinals.

"Nawala na ang play at alam ko wala nang oras kaya tinira ko na. Maganda naman ang feel ko ng binitawan ko ang bola," said Espino, the biggest hero of the Realtors in their eighth win in 10 outings.

The Realtors were down at 84-87 and the clock ticking to its final seconds in regulation when Espino made the trey right in front of the Sta. Lucia bench. Curiously, the sturdy 6-foot-7 forward-center out of Santo Tomas was 2-of-2 from the three-point area in the conference before he took the crucial shot.

Espino’s exploits didn’t end there as he also buried two free throws that settled the outcome of the game at 100-97 with time down to 9.5 seconds in extension play. He wound up with 20 points and eight rebounds.

The other half of the Sta. Lucia twin towers in Marlou Aquino struggled in the contest but coach Norman Black found other heroes in Francis Adriano and Felix Belano in nailing the win that assured the team of a spot in the Magic Four.

Adriano, playing only his third game in the conference, made the most out of it, firing 12 points. Belano had 13, including seven in overtime.

"No question, Francis (Adriano) and Donbel (Belano) gave us a big lift tonight," said Black.

Damien Owens started out strong for the Realtors but lost steam in the stretch while Alaska import Ron Riley went out on fouls only a minute into the overtime.

The Realtors pounded the ouster of Riley as they took a five-point lead at 96-91, but the Aces refused to give up the fight and got back into the contest, 95-96, on four straight points by Brian Gahol.

But Sta. Lucia just wouldn’t be denied the win with Belano and Espino hitting crucial free throws in the closing seconds.

Alaska suffered its seventh loss against three wins and it was a sorry defeat as the Aces led by as many as 13 points in the game.

Dominating the boards despite its lack of ceiling, the Aces posted leads of 13 points thrice, the last at 79-66. They were ahead by 12 at 81-69 before losing their touch, going scoreless in a six-minute span in the fourth quarter.

And before the Aces broke their silence on a post-up play by Ali Peek against Aquino, the Realtors had launched a massive assault to tie the game at 81-all.

The Realtors went on to win the game despite being outclassed by the Aces in rebounding and playmaking. Alaska had 66 rebounds and 21 assists to Sta. Lucia’s 41 rebounds and nine assists.

"Good night to win the game when you’re struggling. And that’s what I’m preaching to the boys... when everything isn’t going fine, buckle down on defense," said Black.