Realtors vow to nail it down now

Sta. Lucia gets another chance at a guaranteed playoff crack for the right to challenge Red Bull in the quarterfinals while Coca-Cola, Air21 and Alaska Milk try to stay in contention at resumption of the Talk n Text PBA Philippine Cup wildcard round today at the Araneta Coliseum.

It’s Sta. Lucia versus Coca-Cola at 4:05 p.m. then Air21 against Alaska Milk at 6:30 p.m.

The Realtors are now on a four-game skid but remain the prohibitive pick for the last seat in the quarters owing to their carryover record from the classification round.

Coach Alfrancis Chua and his boys could end the chase in their favor tonight should they beat the Tigers and the Aces defeat the Express.

But the Realtors are on a slump, losing seven of their last eight games in a big dive all the way from the top of the heap.

Worse, skipper Dennis Espino remains a doubtful starter with knee injury. Espino actually re-joined his team in practice yesterday but couldn’t cope up with the pace.

The Express, meanwhile, came out strong in their first game in 2007, pouncing on the absence of Espino for a 121-99 victory Friday.

Earlier, Allan Salangsang and Denok Miranda combined for three huge three-pointers inside the last 62 seconds and the Tigers rallied to snatch a 99-98 squeaker in overtime over the Aces.

After their contrasting victories, coaches Bo Perasol and Binky Favis vowed to work hard in their bid to avail themselves of the playoff incentive in the wildcard round.