Welcoat ends 15-game skid

Welcoat ends 15-game skid; Magnolia wins
By: Zean Macamay

Source: http://www.journal.com.ph/index.php?issue=2008-04-21&sec=7&aid=56844

AFTER five months and four days, Welcoat finally felt what victory was.
And after more than a year, the Dragons at last pulled off a win at a place that’s been unfriendly to them.

Welcoat ended 15-game victory drought, stunning the Purefoods Giants, 110-103, and rewarding Caloy Garcia his first win as head coach in the Smart-PBA Fiesta Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Dragons were uncharacteristically poised and focused against a team they had never beaten in the past, detonating a key bomb early in the fourth quarter before staying strong when the Giants made one final stand in the stretch.

So Welcoat at last snapped a win lull that looked like extremely difficult to halt.

The last time they tasted victory was against Talk ‘N Text last Nov. 16, in the Philippine Cup, and won for the first time at the Big Dome since beating Air21 in March 30 last year.

“We finally learned from our mistakes,” said Garcia. “We were pretty solid in the stretch and the boys just never gave up when Purefoods was making a run.”

Indeed, it was a performance that was hard to believe. And the Dragons did it against one of three ball clubs they have never defeated since barging into the league two seasons ago.

What Welcoat did was it unloaded a 20-6 blast when it was trailing at 78-80.
And when it was comfortably ahead 98-86 with exactly four minutes left in the game, the Dragons answered every huge Purefoods basket with their own big-time conversions.

With the win, Welcoat moved out from the bottom of the standings with a 1-4 win-loss record, leaving Ginebra as the only winless team among the 10-squad field.

Later in the night, Magnolia Beverage Masters handed Ginebra its fifth straight setback, 95-92.

Watkins and Danny Seigle finished with 20 and 15 points for the Beverage Masters , who improved to 3-2.

Purefoods was shockingly unable to rip apart Welcoat when it led by 11 points in the first half.

Instead, it was the Dragons who showed that they already have the nerve and the skills to overcome a team so mighty as the Giants, who could only draw a seven-point performance from 2006 MVP James Yap.

Still, it was James Yap himself who slashed the deficit to within 101-105 with a triple in the last 42 seconds, a basket merely three seconds apart when Rob Wainwright had put the Dragons up at 105-98 with his own triple.
The scores:
Welcoat (110) --Gainous 25, De Vance 16, Santee 15, Wainwright 15, Isip 10, Arana 9, Salangsang 7, Reyes 6, Ibanes 5, Tangkay 2, Dulay 0, Baguion 0, Sta. Maria 0.
Purefoods (103)-- Rice 28, Yap R. 22, Simon 15, Raymundo 15, Villanueva 8, Yap J. 7, Lanete 4, Salvador 2, Yee 2, Evangelista 0.
Quarterscores: 25-30, 52-51, 74-73, 110-103.
Second game:
Magnolia (95) -- Watkins 20, Seigle 15, Tugade 12, Cortez 10, Hontiveros 10, Racela 9, Ildefonso 9, Pingris 5, Pena 3, Villanueva 2, Tolomia 0, Calaguio 0.
Ginebra (92) -- Brown 18, Helterbrand 18, Caguioa 16, Valenzuela 10, Tubid 9, Mamaril 9, Artadi 6, Crisano 6, Salvacion 0. Pablo 0.
Quarterscores: 42-47, 68-70, 95-92.