Burger King routs SLR, reaches Fiesta Cup semis

MANILA, Philippines – Burger King played its best basketball on the day Sta. Lucia played its worst. Behind a hot start, the Whoppers destroyed the Realtors in the most lopsided win in nine years, scoring a 120-72 victory in Game 3 of their quarterfinals series Sunday and advancing to the semi-finals of the Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum. The 48-point triumph matched Alaska’s 119-71 win over Tanduay in the battle for third place in the Commissioner’s Cup on Sept. 23, 2000, and the win likewise ended up as Burger King’s biggest in franchise history, surpassing its 124-90 conquest off Ginebra in Game 2 of the 2008 Fiesta Conference Finals. At the same time, it was also the worst defeat for the Realtors, 13 points more than their previous worst, which was a 114-79 setback to Guiao’s old Red Bull team in the 2007 Fiesta Conference eliminations. The Whoppers begin their best-of-7 semi-final stint on Wednesday against a well-rested San Miguel Beer. “Our biggest break was that Sta. Lucia played without Kelly (Williams) and Ryan (Reyes)," said Burger King coach Yeng Guiao. “The coaching staff did a good job of keeping the team sharp. Nobody expected us to win this way. The key for us in this game was that we had a good start. That set the tone and from then on, the guys coming off the bench picked it up from there." Already without Williams (blood disorder) and Reyes (back spasms), the Realtors’ problems got even worse when no player other than Anthony Johnson tried to step up. Nelbert Omolon only finished with five points and Marlou Aquino and Dennis Espino merely combined for 10. Joseph Yeo was the only local to score in twin digits, finishing with 17 but fouled out with 7:55 left in the fourth quarter. Johnson led the Realtors with 30 points and 20 rebounds. In contrast, five locals submitted outputs in double figures for Burger King, led by Gary David’s 19 and the 15 of Arwind Santos, taking much of the load away from import Shawn Daniels (four points, 12 rebounds). Reserves Cholo Villanueva, Aaron Aban and Carlo Sharma each chipped in 12 points for the Whoppers, whose players contributed at least four points in the surprisingly easy win. Showing why they are one of the top tiers on offense, the Whoppers scored all but two of the game’s first 18 points. They led by as many as 24 in the first half, the last at 54-30 on a jumper by Sharma with 3:10 remaining in the second period. That was all what Burger King needed to crush Sta. Lucia’s hopes. - GMANews.TV