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MANILA, Philippines - Kelly Williams hardly showed rustiness from a two-week holiday break, coming through with a huge double-double performance as Sta. Lucia Realty upended Rain or Shine, 95-91, at resumption of the KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

Williams, the front-runner in the statistical point race, had another highly productive game with 25 points and 19 rebounds, leading the Realtors past the Elasto Painters in a scrambling finish for their eighth win against six losses.

Sta. Lucia thus repeated its 95-90, overtime victory over Rain or Shine last Oct. 21 with the Realtors handing the Elasto Painters their 11th loss against four wins.

“Kelly did a good job and he stepped up at crunch time. It just showed that he’s the leader of this team,” said Sta. Lucia coach Boyet Fernandez of his main man.

Williams, the 2008 MVP awardee, did strike hardest in the most crucial stage of the contest, scoring 10 of Sta. Lucia’s final 14 points.

The 6-foot-4 Fil-Am forward scored back-to-back baskets to shatter the 89-all count and personally clinched their win with a crucial rebound after a missed shot by Gabe Norwood.

Joseph Yeo and Jason Misolas were two other SLR players who finished in double-figures while Ryan Reyes added eight points, six assists, four rebounds and three steals in a solid all-around performance.

“I also have to commend Ryan Reyes. He’s just returned from the US last Sunday. He made good his promise that he’ll stay in shape even on vacation in the US,” said Fernandez.

Like in their first meeting, the Elasto Painters put up a good fight, battling the Realtors to 11 deadlocks and 20 lead changes only to falter at the finish.

They held the lead for the last time at 89-87 on a three-pointer by Jeff Chan off two defenders before going scoreless for over two minutes in a sorry fold-up, enabling the Realtors to complete a sweep of their two elimination-round tiffs.

“It’s a crucial win as it kept us in strong contention for an outright quarterfinals slot. We have four remaining games and we have to win all those games if we want easy passage to the quarters. I do believe we have a good chance,” said Fernandez.

Sta. Lucia got off to a strong start but slowed down in the second period, trailing by four, 47-51, at halftime.

Gabe Norwood and Chan starred for the Elasto Painters as they made a big run in the second period, erasing a 20-28 deficit.

Norwood, Chan, Sol Mercado, Eddie Laure and Jervy Cruz all scored at least 10 points for Rain or Shine.

Laure finished with 13 points on 3-of-5 shooting from the three-point area and 2-of-4 clip from the two-point zone. He was 0-of-4 from the three-point zone in the tourney prior to this game.

Earlier, Purefoods simply stamped its class on the Jamal Sampson-less Smart Gilas team, romping off with a lopsided 99-81 win.

The RP developmental pool, preparing for the Guangzhou Asian Games late this year, ended up with a 3-7 win-loss record in their guest stint in the all-Filipino tourney. The team’s victories came against San Miguel, Coca-Cola and Rain or Shine.

Sampson, Smart Gilas’ naturalization prospect, sat out the game due to a bum stomach.

Source: Nelson Beltran  | Philstar.com