PBA: REALTORS BURY PHONE PALS 97-93

Pasay City, Oct. 6, 1997 - Sta. Lucia regained the solo lead spot in the Philippine Basketball Association's Governor's Cup elimination rounds, beating Mobiline in a game that had fans guessing till the last seconds of play.

Here's a detailed report from the Bulletin's Manny Angeles:

Sta. Lucia Realty agonized for nearly three minutes before slaying a two-headed dragon that is Mobiline, 97-93, last night. Poor free throw shooting that had them converting only five of their last 10 shots allowed Mobiline, coached by Tommy Manotoc and Derek Pumaren, to come back from a 15-point deficit.

The littlest player on the court, Tony Boy Espinosa, waged a one-man battle for the Phone Pals, firing off all of his 12 points in the final period to lift Mobiline from a 57-72 deficit to within 91-93, with 40 second left in the game.

After Dennis Espino made it 94-91, with a split off Andrew Seigle, Mobiline's 6-foot-9 behemoth countered with a short jumper to keep the threat notwithstanding another split by Sean Green with 23.8 seconds left.

The clincher came when Espino flubbed a jumper in the return play and Jun Limpot, who topscored with 32 points, cased in on two throws off Glen Capacio for the final count.

Mobiline is now 3rd in team standings, tied with Purefoods, San Miguel and Pop Cola.