The Realtors did it with an ailing import in Damien Owens as they braced for the quarterfinals.
In the second game, Purefoods leaned on another explosive effort by Lenny Cooke as it smothered an import-less Shell, 92-83, to keep its flickering hopes for the next round alive.
It was the Hotdogs’ fourth triumph in 13 outings and a loss by the Alaska Aces (4-8) to the Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings on Wednesday at the Cuneta Astrodome would force a do-or-die playoff for the last slot in Group A in the next round.
The Turbo Chargers suffered their 10th setback against three wins.
Owens, who is responsible for steering the franchise to its first and only PBA title two years ago, struggled thoughout but still managed to scatter 18 points that helped Sta. Lucia clinch a second win in a row and firmed up its place atop its group with a 8-5 win-loss slate.
Inactive for two years after undergoing a couple of surgeries on his Achilles heel, Owen’s biggest moment came midway in the second half when he fueled a fiery 16-0 blitz that turned a 60-71 third quarter deficit into a 76-71 count in the fourth quarter.
Clutch jumpers by Jason Webb and undergoal thrusts by the power duo of Dennis Espino and Marlou Aquino made it a 90-79 advantage with less than two minutes remaining in the match.
The Beermen, however, refused to go away as they launched a 11-3 blast that trimmed the gap to just three points, 90-93, but they could not convert on their last two possessions and the Realtors secured the win with key defensive stops by Owens and Francis Adriano.
But more than the late defensive gems and Owens’ offense, it was Webb who delivered the most crucial blows.
"He just played big in this game, maganda ang kamay niya ngayon," said an impressed Sta. Lucia coach Alfrancis Chua of Webb, who came off the bench to sizzle with 16 points, his best since scoring 19 in 1998.
Meanwhile, Red Bull Barako’s Willie Miller defeated Coca-Cola’s Leo Avenido, 22-12, to clinch the first finals berth in the 6’4" and below division of the Purefoods-Barangay Ginebra King of the Court one-on-one tournament.
In another development, the Philippine Basketball Association board of directors is scheduled to meet Thursday to tackle Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp. (IBC) Channel 13’s decision to pull out of its television coverage of the PBA games.
"We need to come up with resolutions or maybe steps we’re going to take to ensure that our memorandum of agreement with NBN and IBC is respected,"said commissioner Noli Eala, who arrived yesterday after attending National Basketball Association Games in Tokyo, Japan.
"It’s a consortium between NBN and IBC, it’s an internal issue so they are the ones responsible for it," said Eala.