Realtors overrun Bulls in second-half fightback

Sta. Lucia waged a big second-half fightback largely behind the exploits of Joseph Yeo and Dennis Espino, carving out a come-from-behind 102-98 win over Red Bull to assure the Realtors an outright quarterfinals slot in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

Yeo and Espino came alive in the final half, fueling a fierce Sta. Lucia rally from a 20-point deficit that enabled the team to close out with a 10-8 win-loss mark in the double-round elimination phase.

Yeo scored 11 points each in the third and fourth quarters after struggling for three in the first half while Espino made eight in the third and 10 in the fourth after netting only five in the first 24 minutes of play.

The rest of the Realtors put in significant contributions defensively in the second half, limiting the Bulls to 35 after allowing 65 in the first half.

“I’m so happy the boys heeded my call to play defense in the second half. Our defense was manhandled by Red Bull early on. This win could easily be remembered as among the best for the franchise,” said Sta. Lucia coach Boyet Fernandez of their stirring victory.

It was actually a virtual repeat of the two teams’ first meeting where the Realtors overcame a 19-point deficit in pulling off an 83-80 decision.

For the nth time in the tourney, Red Bull failed to protect a big lead in the game, taking the exit with a poor 5-13 record.

The Photokina franchise failed to make it past the elimination phase for the first time in the last eight conferences and only the second time in the last 18 tourneys.

Prior to the conference, the Bulls had made the Final Four of all the last seven conferences.

Red Bull rookie Jeff Chan matched his career best 23 points with Cyrus Baguio adding 17, all coming in the first half.

Kelly Williams struggled with 6-of-15 field-goal shooting but finished with a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds that went with three assists and one block.

Espino wound up with a personal conference high of 23 and narrowly missed a double-double with nine rebounds.

Marlou Aquino started at center spot for the Realtors but the 6-foot-9 veteran slotman was good for only two points without a single rebound.

From 65-45 down, the Realtors pulled even after a long chase at 92-all on a three-pointer by Yeo.