2007–08 PBA Philippine Cup finals

. The Realtors are in their first Philippine Cup finals stint.

Qualification

Purefoods		Sta. Lucia
Finished 12–6 (0.667)	Elimination round		Finished 12–6 (0.667) – 2nd
2–0 against Sta. Lucia – 1st	Tiebreaker
Bye	Wildcard phase		Bye
	Quarterfinals
Def. Red Bull Barako – 4–3	Semifinals		Def. Alaska Aces – 4–3

Rosters

Sta. Lucia Realtors roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # POB Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From F 3 Omolon, Nelbert 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) Philippine Christian G 8 Mendoza, Paolo 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Philippines C 9 Butel, Philip 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) UE G 10 Reyes, Ryan 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Cal State Fullerton C 13 Aquino, Marlou 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) Adamson F 14 Daa, Dennis 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Centro Escolar Las Piñas F/C 16 Espino, Dennis (C) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) UST G 18 Yeo, Joseph 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) De La Salle F 19 Mamaclay, Melvin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) Adamson F 21 Williams, Kelly 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) Oakland G 25 Bughao, Ronnie 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) San Beda F 28 Gonzales, Norman 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) San Beda G 32 Miranda, Dennis 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Far Eastern G 40 Coronel, Christian 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) San Sebastian	Head coach Boyet Fernandez Assistant coach(es) Adonis Tierra Cholo Martin Jaime Serrano, Jr Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Purefoods TJ Giants roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # POB Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From G 1 Lanete, Chico 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Lyceum C 5 Salvador, Jondan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) St. Benilde F/C 6 Rodriguez, Omanzie 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) Mapúa F 7 Evangelista, Rey 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) UST G 8 Simon, Peter June 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Mindanao F 9 Sanz, Robert 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Philippine Christian C 10 Adducul, Rommel 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) San Sebastian G 13 Yap, Roger 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) USJ–R F 15 Pingris, Marc 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) PSBA G 18 Yap, James 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) UE F 20 Larong, Ardy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) USJ–R F 21 Raymundo, Kerby (C) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) Letran G 24 Cablay, Brandon  6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Vanguard F 28 Yee, Richard 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) UST G 40 Castillo, Noy 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) The Citadel	Head coach Ryan Gregorio Assistant coach(es) Koy Banal Ronnie Magsanoc Dayong Mendoza Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Series scoring summary

Team	Game 1	Game 2	Game 3	Game 4	Game 5	Game 6	Game 7	Wins
Purefoods	97	101	118	106	76	89	88	3
Sta. Lucia	109	112	107	98	88	81	100	4
Venue	Araneta	Araneta	Araneta	Araneta	Araneta	Araneta	Araneta

Games summary

Game 1

ABC

February 15 7:20 p.m.

boxscore

Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants 97, Sta. Lucia Realtors 109
Scoring by quarter: 26–19, 29–27, 19–33, 23–30
Pts: J. Yap 22 Rebs: Pingris 11 Asts: R. Yap 4		Pts: Williams 24 Rebs: Williams 12 Asts: Reyes 5
Sta. Lucia leads series, 1–0

Araneta Coliseum, Quezon City Referees: Calungcaguin, Herrera, Maurillo

Purefoods and SLR engaged in a battle of attrition in the first three quarters but the Realtors pulled away late in the third quarter. Thanks to defense that led into transition offense, Kelly Williams collected 14 of his game-high 24 points to outscore the Giants 30–23 in the fourth quarter to claim Game 1.^[1]

Game 2

Just like in Game 1, Purefoods and SLR fought a close game until the fourth quarter when Sta. Lucia's younger players led a 12–2 run to close out the game; Joseph Yeo scored 16 while Miranda added 14 plus 6 assists.^[2]

Game 3

Purefoods found their finishing kick in the fourth quarter to prevent a sweep of the championship series to clinch their first win. With Peter June Simon being the third scoring option, Simon led the Giants through the third quarter with his outside sniping. James Yap and Kerby Raymundo finished off Simon's work in the fourth quarter. Williams got cold in the payoff quarter that prevented SLR's comeback.^[3]

Game 4

Prior to the game,

With the two teams exchanging turnovers at the fourth quarter, the Giants seized the initiative when James Yap scored 4 points in the last 2:03 to break the last deadlock at 95-all; Yap scored a conference-high 32 points. Purefoods managed to hold on to tie the series 2–2.^[5]

Game 5

With both Yeo and Yap suspended, the two teams had less options for offense which led to the lowest scoring first quarter of the series. Purefoods opened the game on a better note, however, when they led by as much as 11 points in the first half.

The Realtors crept back into the game thanks to points off Purefoods' turnovers. Simon got cold and Raymundo had a tough time against SLR's

SLR had good games from veterans Dennis Espino and Paolo Mendoza who stepped up in Yeo's absence.^[6]

Game 6

Both Yeo and Yap returned from the suspensions in the pivotal Game 6; the TJ Giants are on a do-or-die situation while the Realtors can clinch the title with a win.

The teams took the opening quarter strong but Purefoods pulled away after a tight first few minutes. SLR caught up with them at the second quarter but thanks to Purefoods' rebounding, they inflated their lead by up to ten points at half-time.

The Realtors stepped their offense on the third quarter, even leading at some points. But James Yap scored 20 of his 30 teams in the payoff period to lead Purefoods into a Game 7. Williams had a lackluster offensive game although he grabbed 17 rebounds; but it was Marc Pingris who grabbed the most boards, with a series high 21 rebounds.^[7]

Game 7

With the

The game was close until the seven-minute mark when Ryan Reyes scored a three-point field goal; James Yap, not to be outdone, shot a trey but it rattled out of rim. The #1 draft pick on the 1995 PBA Draft Dennis Espino then led the 13–2 run as Purefoods' outside shots rattled in-and-out of the rim for a Sta. Lucia pull-away. Giants coach Ryan Gregorio used up all of his timeouts but the Realtors managed to convert their inside jumpers. Espino scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to prevent a Purefoods incursion to assure the Sta. Lucia franchise their first Philippine Cup championship and their second championship overall. Espino was adjudged as the finals MVP.^[8]

Finals Most Valuable Player

• Dennis Espino (Sta. Lucia Realtors)

Statistics

Purefoods

Sta. Lucia

Broadcast notes

Suspensions and other issues

James Yap suspension

With Game 3 already decided, James Yap committed a

With SLR on a fouling spree to conserve time on Game 4, Yeo committed a flagrant foul (penalty 2) when he hit Noy Castillo in the face. Yeo and Castillo then had a shouting spree before Castillo missed his two free throws. This would assure that Yeo will miss Game 5 along with James Yap.

References

External links

• PBA official website