Purefoods TJ Giants: 2008

Giants boost faltering hopes for q'finals berth

Posted by dAVe Labels: news

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Getting a much-needed inspiration from a "Big C" survivor, Purefoods racked up a big "W" last Sunday.

"Just to see Romel (Adducul) in uniform provides so much inspiration," Giants coach Ryan Gregorio said of his center who has made a full recovery from the nasal cancer that has sidelined him since February.

"The presence of Romel was a big morale-boost. He inspired his teammates. They rallied behind him," added Gregorio.

"It (win) was big, considering the circumstances we're in," said Gregorio, whose charges rallied back from a 17-point deficit to improve their win-loss slate to 8-9.

"We're coming off sorry back-to-back losses and we had to overcome a big margin here. Everything is not yet lost. Hopefully, we can continue to compete and make the Top Five," added Gregorio.

Purefoods' win capped a stretch since last Wednesday that saw top teams such as Alaska and San Miguel absorb stinging defeats, giving Purefoods more reason to hope.

"With teams at the top going down and those down going up, it shows there's parity in this tournament and among the teams," he said.

The loss was Talk N Text's ninth in 16 games, foiling its bid to catch Alaska (10-6) at the top and relegating it to joint second with San Miguel Beer and Rain or Shine at 9-7.

The Tropang Texters also lost 87-88 in their initial meeting with the Giants last Nov. 7 on a buzzer-beating shot by Chito Lanete. The frustration in this defeat should be as great as the first.

Still down by eight 81-89 going into the last three minutes of play, Purefoods drew clutch baskets from Enrico Villanueva, Topex Robinson and James Yap and surged ahead 94-91.

Jason Castro capped a 21-point performance with a quick drive to bring TNT within one, time down to 14.4 seconds, and looked for a quick foul to stop the clock and have ample time for an equalizer.

The Giants were ready, however, eluding the press with a good passing play that led to a breakaway slam by Villanueva, making it 96-93 with 5.8 seconds left. Malaya Online Edition

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Defending champs beats Purefoods

Posted by dAVe Labels: results

I failed to watch this game since it was scheduled on a Thursday. CS9 doesn't air Thursday games live. Anyway, another heart-breaking loss for Purefoods. The team is now on a two-game slump, bowing to Rain or Shine and SLR in their last two games. Looks like the team is headed for another wildcard trip. *sigh

STA. LUCIA EDGES PUREFOODS, ARRESTS SKID
source

Defending champion Sta. Lucia Realty solidified its bid for an outright quarterfinal berth as it downed Purefoods, 73-71, in the 2008-09 KFC PBA Philippine Cup Thursday night at the Ynares Sports Arena in Pasig City.

The Realtors played tough defense down the stretch, forcing the Giants to miss crucial shots in the final moments as they improved their win-loss record to 8-8 for solo sixth in the team standings.

After committing a 24-second violation, James Yap missed a tough shot from the right corner. Enrico Villanueva collared the rebound and was fouled by Dennis Espino.

The former Ateneo stalwart, however, missed his free throws.

The Giants had two chances to tie the score when guard Roger Yap got the rebound, but missed his shot and Kerby Raymundo’s follow up attempt failed to find its mark as time expired.

Purefoods dropped to 7-9.

The win also ended a two-game skid for Sta. Lucia, and completed as well a conference sweep opposite its Finals opponent last season following a 69-66 victory in their first round meeting last Oct. 18.

The Realtors started slow as Purefoods started hostilities with a 10-0 blitz.

The Giants were up by 11 points, 42-31, when Joseph Yeo, who fired a game-high 21 points, singlehandedly carried the fight for the Realtors when he scored 10 straight points that sparked a 15-4 run that tied the score at 46-46.

Reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) Kelly Williams, who added 17 points, highlighted that run by cutting through the lane, receiving a bounce pass from Christian Coronel and banging in a rim- rattling slam-dunk.

Purefoods came back in the fourth as Roger Yap’s basket gave his team a 61-50 advantage.

But SLR answered with nine straight points capped by a pair of free throws from Dennis Espino to make it 66-65 with 3:15 to play. After a dunk by Villanueva, Yeo nailed a three-pointer, Bitoy Omolon split his free throws and Espino made two foul shots for a 72-67 lead with 60 seconds left.

The last time Purefoods threatened was when James Yap made a basket, cutting the deficit to 71-73.

The top two teams after the Christmas day games will advance automatically to the Final Four, while the third to fifth teams will earn outright quarterfinal slots. The sixth to ninth teams will play in the crossover knockout wildcard stage where the survivor will claim the last quarterfinal ticket. The 10th placer will be the conference’s first casualty.

Yap led the Giants with 20 points, while Raymundo added 17 and Villanueva had 12. (WG)

The scores:

Sta. Lucia 73 – Yeo 21, Williams 17, Miranda 9, Omolon 9, Espino 8, Gregorio 4, Coronel 3, Aquino 2, Jaime 0, Daa 0, Mendoza 0.

Purefoods 71 – Yap J. 20, Raymndo 17, Villanueva 12, Yap R. 6, Aban 5, Alvarez 5, Robinson 4, Belga 2, Lanete 0, Salvador 0.

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RAIN OR SHINE GETS ANOTHER MILESTONE IN WIN OVER PUREFOODS

Posted by dAVe Labels: purefoods, results

Mercado, Wainwright lead Elasto Painters’ winning third straight
source

Rain or Shine has paid its dues. Now it's time to reap the dividends.

Rookie Sol Mercado scored 19 points including the go-ahead three-point play and Rob Wainwright knocked his fourth trey of the night with 47 seconds remaining to secure the Elasto Painters' 82-76 victory over the Purefoods TJ Giants Saturday at the Cuneta Astrodome.

Finishing 10th and last in its first four conferences of existence in the league, the Elasto Painters blew a 12-point third quarter advantage, trailed by four at the end of the period but regained their rhythm in the fourth, closing the quarter with an 8-0 run to stretch their winning streak to three games.

The consecutive wins mark the longest for the franchise since joining the league two years ago. Overall, ROS has won nine of 15 games to grab solo second place and assure its place in the playoffs – something it has not achieved in the previous two seasond.

"Hopefully, it would not stop here. There are more games to be won and we have an opportunity to make it to the top two. We just have to stay focused," said Rain or Shine head coach Caloy Garcia, who emphasized that not one player was outstanding in Saturday's win.

"What we achieved today is a by-product of team effort. Everybody was determined to win and that made the difference," he said.

Wainwright, who went 4-of-10 from behind the arc, and Mark Isip also added 14 while JayR Reyes grabbed 15 rebounds.

The Elasto Painters, who have now tripled their total number of wins in last season’s tourney, appeared headed for a lopsided victory when they surged to a 51-39 advantage three minutes into the third quarter.

Then things went out of control and the Elasto Painters found them fighting for every possession.

After making their first four shots of the third, the Elasto Painters went 1-of-14 over a nine-minute stretch, enabling the gasping Giants to recover and build a 61-57 lead going into the last 12 minutes.

But the Elasto Painters, showing flashes of their resiliency and grim determination, didn't back off.

They opened the fourth with an 8-2 run to regain the lead before the count deadlocked on three occasions, the last at 74-74 on a basket by James Yap with under two minutes left.

Another basket by James Yap shoved Purefoods ahead, 76-74, but the Giants didn't score again the rest of the way.

Purefoods outrebounded Rain or Shine, 63-53, but the Giants gave up 21 points on 18 turnovers.

ROS turned the ball over 22 times but made up for it by making 11-of-40 shots from the 3-point range.

James Yap led all scorers with 32 points, Kerby Raymundo added 17 and Rico Villanueva grabbed 14 rebounds for Purefoods which fell to a 7-8 (win-loss) record. (DBC)

The scores:

Rain or Shine 82 - Mercado 19, Isip 14, Wainwright 14, Salangsang 8, Arana 7, Tang 6, Ibanes 6, Reyes 5, Norwood 3, Dulay 0, Andaya 0.

Purefoods 76 - Yap J. 32, Raymundo 17, Aban 8, Villanueva 6, Yap R. 5, Salvador 4, Belga 2, Lanete 2, Alonzo 0, Bugia 0, Alvarez 0, Robinson 0.

Quarterscores: 19-15, 40-33, 57-61, 82-76.

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Profile: James Yap

Posted by dAVe Labels: James Yap

Name: James Carlos Yap
Jersey Number: 18
Team: Purefoods
Birthday: February 15, 1982
Birthplace: Escalante, Negros Occidental, Philippines
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 205 lbs.

College: University of the East (UE Red Warriors)
PBA Draft: 2004 2nd overall draft pick
Position: Shooting guard/Small forward
Monicker: "Big Game James" / "King James"

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Purefoods TJ Giants Roster

Posted by dAVe Labels: roster

Chico Lanete 01 - Guard	Jondan Salvador 05 - Forward	Peter June Simon 08 - Guard
	Michael "Topex" Robinson 11 - Guard	Jonathan Fernandez 12 - Guard	Roger Yap(+) 13 - Guard
	Enrico Villanueva 14 - Center/Forward	Paolo Bugia 15 - Center	Aaron Aban 17 - Guard/Forward
	James Yap(+) 18 - Guard	Richard Alonzo 20 - Forward	Kerby Raymundo 21 - Center/Forward
	Richard Yee(+) 28 - Forward	Beau Belga 30 - Center	Richard Alvarez 32 - Forward