Purefoods Giants beat Welcoat Dragons, 92-80

The Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants beat the Welcoat Dragons, 92-80, in Sunday's first Sunday game of the 2007-08 Smart-PBA Philippine Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City. Main man Kerby Raymundo scored 16 of 21 points in the second half and his three consecutive baskets in the final five minutes touched off an 11-2 windup by the Giants to secure the game and snap a two-game losing skid. But more importantly, the Giants stayed comfortably ahead of their closest pursuers as the race for the outright berths of the Philippine Cup tightened. Purefoods improved its record to 10-3 (win-loss), one and a half games ahead of second-running Red Bull (8-4). PBA MVP James Yap also made 21 points despite a dismal 5-of-21 shooting, Romel Adducul had 14, and Peter Jun Simon added 13 for the Giants, who are now 6-0 against Welcoat since the Dragons entered the league last season. "It's kind of amusing but we celebrated our two loses yesterday," Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio said of their frustrating setbacks against Magnolia and Talk 'N' Text. "During a team gathering we also agreed to regroup and give our best shot in our remaining games," Gregorio added. Purefoods is one of three remaining teams that Welcoat has not yet defeated since last season, the other two teams being Red Bull and Alaska. Raymundo, who was 6-for-17 from the perimeter and 9-of-10 from the stripe, also cornered 15 rebounds as Purefoods pounded Welcoat off the boards, 60-35, and earned a 14-5 advantage in second chance points. It was another frustrating night for the Dragons, who suffered their fifth straight defeat. With a 3-9 record, it looked like they are again headed for an early vacation, a fate they suffered in their first two conferences in the league last season. Although they fell behind by 10 in the early goings, the Dragons slowly got back into the game and kept the game close until the fourth quarter. But their chances to walk away with the win went down the drain when franchise rookie Joe Devance picked up two fouls inside 15 seconds and fouled out with still 8:49 to play and Welcoat behind by just two, 71-73. "Joe Devance fouling out in the crucial stretch of the fourth gave us a huge lift," Gregorio said. Devance, this year’s No. 1 Draft pick, finished with a career-high 25 points despite fouling out early while Nic Belasco matched his 25. But no other Dragon scored in double digits. The Giants took a 66-56 lead on two free throws by Raymundo late in the third quarter but Devance almost single-handedly rallied the Dragons, who outscored Purefoods, 13-2 in a four-minute span to pull within 69-70 early in the fourth. The scores Purefoods (92): Yap J. 21, Raymundo 21, Adducul 14, Simon 13, Pingris 8, Yap R. 7, Lanete 6, Evangelista 2, Sanz 0, Salvador 0 Welcoat (80): Devance 25, Belasco 25, Lopez 8, Wainwright 6, Dulay 5, Ibanes 5, Gelig 4, Sta. Maria 2, Arana 0, Mente 0 Quarters: 26-25, 43-42, 68-62, 92-80

- GMANews.TV