Realtors, Beermen live for another day

Sta. Lucia Realty and San Miguel Beer stayed alive last night, beating Alaska Milk and Talk n Text , respectively, in Game Five of the KFC PBA Philippine Cup Final Four at the Astrodome.

The Realtors squeezed out a 81-74 win over the Aces while the Beermen pulled off a 125-115 victory over the Tropang Texters, forcing at least another game each in both series.

The defending champions and the league’s winningest ball club go for the equalizer in Game Six in the same venue tomorrow.

Marc Pingris and Jay Washington both came through with a double-double game with five other Beermen putting in at least 10 points as the Beermen survived a fourth knockout game dating back to the wildcard round.

“There’s nothing miraculous there. We’re just trying our best where we are right now,” said San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen.

“We lived to fight another game but we’re still down by two games. We’ll still take it one game at a time. We’re done with tonight’s game and we’re now looking forward to Game Six,” said Sta. Lucia coach Boyet Fernandez.

“I’m so glad the guys didn’t give up, overcoming tonight’s challenge. I hope we end our pattern of playing bad after a won game. Maybe, we can do it preparing ourselves mentally more than physically,” Fernandez added.

Joseph Yeo and Denok Miranda combined for 17 points in the payoff quarter and sank back-to-back three-pointers down the stretch to scuttle Alaska’s bid.

The entire Sta. Lucia team played tough defense throughout the contest, holding Alaska down to two points in the last four minutes and to a total output which was nine below the Aces’ average in the first four games of the series.

Willie Miller, a top candidate for the Best Player of the Conference honors, in particular was limited six — his lowest in the series. The two-time MVP winner averaged 17.4 points before the contest.

In a major adjustment, Fernandez essentially rotated only six men in Yeo, Miranda, Kelly Williams, Dennis Espino, Ryan Reyes and Nelbert Omolon, and the gamble paid off with the Realtors staying close and beating the Aces on a strong finish.

Yeo led all scorers with 22 points with Espino and Reyes both coming through with a double-double performance. The former logged 15 rebounds and 12 points and the latter tallied 10 points and the same number of rebounds.

Alaska actually started stronger, taking a 10-point lead at 32-22 at the end of the first quarter.

But the Realtors hang on, coming within three, 41-44, at halftime and drawing within one, 58-59, going into the payoff period.