Ailing Giants hurdle test, SLR

Eugene Tejada is still in sickbed but improvement in his condition is inspiring the Purefoods Chunkee Giants in their battle on the playing court.

The injury-plagued Purefoods squad continued to play like a healthy team, repulsing Sta. Lucia Realty, 87-84, last night to stay in contention for the top spot at the close of the Gran Matador Brandy PBA Philippine Cup double-round classification phase.

"Eugene is really serving as a big inspiration for us. Actually, it’s not only our team which has been touched by Eugene," said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio.

"This patch (bearing the number of Tejada) on our uniform is not just a decoration. This serves as inspiration in our daily lives," added Gregorio, pointing out they’re continuing to dedicate their games to Tejada, whom they lost on a tragic accident a few days back.

The good news was that the Fil-Am forward has undergone a successful operation. The player has already felt sensation on his lower body and has done little hip movement.

"We’re still praying that he can walk," said Gregorio.

Minus a number of key players including Kerby Raymundo and Jun Limpot, the Giants continued to sizzle at the Philsports Arena last night, closing out their classification-round with a 12-4 win-loss card.

The Giants gain top-seeding in the playoffs should the San Miguel Beermen, currently at 11-4, lose to the Air21 Express Wednesday.

"Before the game, we told ourselves that this game is a character test for us because there’s not much at stake for us. But we wanted to go out and take the test, and I think we passed the test with flying colors," said Gregorio, whose troops have long gained outright slot in the semifinals.

"We want that winner’s attitude. We’ve been trying to develop that for the longest time," Gregorio added.

Drawing boost from their support crew, the Giants made it two in a row over the Realtors who ended up deadlast in the classifications with a 4-12 card.

The Realtors now need to top the wildcard round featuring four teams slugging it out in a single round robin to salvage a seat in the quarterfinal round.

James Yap rifled in 22 points to pace the Giants who also drew double-digit outputs from Richard Yee with 15, Roger Yap with 14 and Peter Simon with 12.

Dennis Espino led the Realtors with 17 points with Cesar Catli and Paolo Mendoza adding 14 apiece and Alex Cabagnot chipping in 11.