Yeo wins battle of ex-Archers in PBA sudden-death

MANILA, Philippines - Joseph Yeo won his fourth quarter shootout with Ren-Ren Ritualo and Sta. Lucia ousted Talk 'N Text, 111-96, to catch the last quarterfinals berth in the Smart-Philippine Basketball Association Fiesta Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City. Yeo topscored for the reigning Philippine Cup champions with a conference-high 29 points, including five in a row inside the final four minutes, cutting short a big Phone Pals rally led by the hot-shooting hands of Ritualo. Two free throws by Yeo iced the lone do-or-die game for the Realtors at 97-85. They now face the surging Barangay Ginebra Kings at the start of their best-of-three quarterfinals series on Sunday at the Astrodome. But the Realtos face the prospect of playing without an import in Game One of the quarterfinals as Benson is set to leave for the US this weekend. The Coca-Cola Tigers and the Magnolia Beverage Masters tangle in the other quarterfinal pairing, also a best-of-three affair. The Realtors controlled the match from the onset and led, 49-41, at the half as import Lee Benson outplayed counterpart Terrence Leather and wrecked havoc inside, scoring 15 of his 27 points in the first half. With the game slowly slipping out of their grip, the Phone Pals went to Ritualo for firepower and the former La Salle standout didn't disappoint, clustering 11 straight points to put Talk 'N Text within 80-75. Dennis Miranda hit two free throws and Yeo answered with a three pointer to keep the Phone Pals at bay, but Ritualo nailed back-to-back three pointers to cut the deficit at 89-83 with seven minutes remaining. Yeo then retaliated with his own scoring run, hitting a three-pointer and adding two more free throws to put the Realtors safely on top, 97-85, as the celebration began on the Sta. Lucia bench. Leading Most Valuable Player candidate Kelly Williams complemented Yeo and Benson with 23 points while Bitoy Omolon added 18. Ritualo finished with 26 markers, 18 in the final period, behind the game-high 30 of Jimmy Alapag. Two days after figuring in a near free-for-all incident during the Phone Pals' game against Purefoods and at the losing end of a hefty P60,000 fine, Leather had his temper checked and finished with only 15 points before fouling out in the final two minutes. - GMANews.TV