Chargers force sudden death

Coach Leo Austria hoped the emotions displayed by the Shell Turbochargers in practice that nearly ended in a free-for-all would somehow translate to the kind of intenstiy the team would need in a crucial date with the Sta. Lucia Realtors.

The Turbochargers did show great resolve, overcoming an 11-point deficit late in the third period to whip the Realtors, 85-74, and force a sudden death in their Gran Matador PBA Fiesta Cup wildcard duel at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

Shell used a killer run anchored on a stifling pressing defense in the fourth quarter to come out of a 50-61 hole and go on to gain another day in the season-ending tourney.

"The boys just didn’t want to get eliminated this early. They still want to contend for the championship," said Austria.

"Everybody still wants to play and they showed that with their intensity even in practice. Kaya nga muntik pang magkaroon ng away. We just took it positively," Austria said.

Figuring in a near fight in practice Thursday were Billy Mamaril and Chris Calaguio against Adonis Sta. Maria and Carlo Sharma.

But the Turbochargers came out as one solid unit last night, keeping their composure even as the Realtors built a commanding 11-point lead late in the third period.

Despite Ajani Williams sitting on the bench, the Turbochargers worked on a telling 17-0 run in a five-minute stretch bridging the last two quarters to seize control on the way to notching the win that kept them in title hunt.

The Turbochargers waxed hot in the fourth quarter, scoring 33 points on 55.6 percent field goal shooting compared to the Realtors’ woeful 18.2-percent clip that produced only 13 points.

The Realtors made just four of 22 field-goal attempts in a sorry fold-up in the payoff period.

"We took advantage of our long break to work on a pressing defense. We made the needed adjustments to take away Sta. Lucia’s advantage at the paint," said Austria.

With the win, Austria felt they would already enjoy the advantage against Sta. Lucia in the sudden-death tomorrow.

"One day is not enough to make the needed adjustments. And with the loss, malamang mababa ang morale nila sa Sunday. Pipilitin naming makuha ito," said Austria.

For the record, only six teams in a total of 54 pairings have overcome a twice-to-win task to make it to the next round since this scheme was implemented in 1996. Shell has done the feat versus Purefoods in the 1998 Commissioner’s Cup.

Sta. Lucia enjoyed the twice-to-win incentive after finishing fourth in the double-round classification phase. Incidentally, the Realtors have bungled such a privilege once against the Talk n Text Phone Pals in the 2002 Commissioner’s Cup.