Ginebra wins close one, sends Sta. Lucia on the brink

MANILA, Philippines - Hardly has Sta. Lucia taken a breather following two straight sudden-death games when another do-or-die affair stares the Realtors straight in the eye again. Barangay Ginebra sent the reigning Philippine Cup champion on the verge of elimination following a thrilling 92-90 win at the start of their best-of-three quarterfinal showdown Sunday at the Astrodome. Game Two of the short series will be played Wednesday at the Ynares Center in Antipolo with the Realtors again fighting for dear life less than a week after they were able to extend their campaign in the Smart-Philippine Basketball Association Fiesta Cup. Following morale-boosting victories over Alaska and Talk 'N Text in a pair of knockout matches, Sta. Lucia was able to come this far even if it's the only team with a below-.500 record. But the Realtors are on the edge again and will be off it completely with another Ginebra triumph. If the Kings get the job done, they advance to the best-of-seven semifinals with Red Bull. Mark Caguioa had 30 points to lead the Kings, currently on a seven-game winning run dating back to the eliminations. The dead-shot Ginebra guard added seven rebounds and went 11-of-14 from the foul line, the last two seling the game for the Kings, 92-87, with six seconds left in the game. It was Caguioa who also sparked a big Kings comeback in the second half, rallying the league's crowd darlings from as much as a 15-point deficit at the start of the third period to an 83-74 lead midway into the fourth. But Kelly Williams hit back-to-back three-pointers and the Realtors closed within 90-87 inside the final minute of the game to pave the way for the down-the-wire finish. The scores: Ginebra 92 - Caguioa 30, Alexander 19, Artadi 11, Helterbrand 11, Mamaril 8, Valenzuela 8, Salvacion 5, Pacana 0, Wilson 0, Menk 0 Sta. Lucia 90 - Williams 24, Benson 23, Omolon 17, Reyes 9, Yeo 9, Aquino 4, Miranda 2, Espino 2, Mendoza 0 Quarterscores: 14-24, 37-42, 62-66, 92-90 - GMANews.TV