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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