PRE-GAME NOTES for Sta. Lucia vs. TalknText; May 17, 2008; Xavier University Gym, Cagayan de Oro

· The PBA is having a game in Cagayan de Oro City for the 2nd time
this season and 1st time since Dec. 22 '07 when Magnolia defeated
Alaska 104-92 in the Philippine Cup.
· Prior to that, the last time the PBA was here was during the 2006
All-Star Week which was capped by the All-Star Game on an April 29
which the South All-Stars won 122-120 and with Asi Taulava winning MVP
honors.

Gametime: 4:30 p.m.
Phone Pals (6-3) vs. Realtors (5-3)

· Sta. Lucia is out to avenge its 1st loss in the conference after a 3-0 start.
· 1st meeting this conference: Fri., Apr. 18 '08 (Araneta Coliseum)
· Final score - Talk 'N Text 115, Sta. Lucia 113
· Best Player of the Game - MacMac Cardona 35 pts, 3/5 3pts, 14/21
FGs, 6 rebs, 2 asts, 1 stl., 1 blk.
· The 35 was the highest output this conference by a local player and
was also the 2nd highest in Cardona's pro career, coming next only to
his career-best 38 in TNT's series-clinching Game 6 122-110 win over
Red Bull in the semis of last season's Fiesta Conference.
· The Phone Pals led by as much as 13 in the 1st half but lost it and
even trailed by as much as 8 in the 3rd qtr.
· But Talk 'N Text took the lead for good with a 16-5 run in a
4-minute stretch spanning the 3rd and 4th qtrs. where Cardona had 10
of his 22 2nd half pts.
· When Sta. Lucia threatened for the last time at 96-97 with 8 mins.
left in the game, the Phone Pals, led by McGhee and Jay Washington
conspired in a 10-4 run that proved enough cushion for TNT until the
end.
· Only 2 other Talk 'N Text players scored in double figures with
McGhee tallying 29 and Jimmy Alapag coming up his best scoring game in
the conference of 18.
· McGhee added 19 rebs, 3 asts and 1 stl. while Alapag also had 3 rebs
and 4 asts.
· The Phone Pals' 115 pts. was the most given up by the Sta. Lucia
this conference which was the best defensive team in the conference
prior to that game, giving up an average of just 89.7 pts. in its 3
wins with no team scoring more than 97.
· Wesley Wilson led 5 offensive-minded players in double figures with
his 29 pts. which came with 6 rebs, 2 stls, 1 ast. and 1 blk. while
Kelly Williams led the locals' charge with his 24 pts. and 16 rebs.
for his 3rd double-double in the conference and 25th this season.

Head-to-head

· Last conference 2-0, Sta. Lucia's favor
· The Realtors on the 1st meeting by 10 and the 2nd by just 1 pt.
· SLR was the only team the Phone Pals failed to beat in the conference.
· Last season 3-1, Talk 'N Text's favor
· 2007 Fiesta Conf 2-0, Talk 'N Text's favor
· The Phone Pals won the 2 games by an average margin of 13.5 pts.
· TNT was 1 of 5 teams which went 2-0 against Sta. Lucia in the
conference, the other 4 being Red Bull, Air21, Barangay Ginebra and
Alaska.
· Both teams are coming off wins in their previous assignments last
Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum.
· Talk 'N Text defeated Barangay Ginebra 105-95 that Sunday and has
actually won 4 of its last 5 games.
· The Phone Pals' only loss in its last 5 games was that 116-108
accident against Welcoat last May 9.
· On that same Sunday, Sta. Lucia routed Air21 113-100 and has
actually won 2 of its last 3 games after suffering its 1st
back-to-back defeats in the conference prior to the All-Star break.
· The Phone Pals in the win over the Kings:
· Best Player of the Game - Mac-Mac Cardona 26 pts, 3/7 3pts, 2 rebs, 1 ast.
· 4 others scored in double figures with import Aaron McGhee finishing
with 22 pts. and Jimmy Alapag firing 18, 10 of them in the 4th qtr.
· Barangay Ginebra's Jay-Jay Helterbrand scored the game's 1st basket
but Talk 'N Text went on a 16-2 run to take the lead for good.
· The Phone Pals went on to lead by as much as 28 pts. in the 3rd period.
· The Kings rallied in the 4th period but came no closer than 7 pts.
even though they held Talk 'N Text without a field goal in the final
3:16.
· The Realtors in their win over the Express:
· Best Player of the Game - Ryan Reyes 15 pts, 6/8 FGs, 10 asts, 4 rebs, 3 stls.
· Sta. Lucia dictated the tempo of the right at the start, racing to
9-2 lead in the 1st 3 mins. of action.
· The Realtors led by as much as 9 pts. in the 1st period, by as much
as 17 in the 2nd and by as much as 19 in the 3rd.
· The Express rallied and came closest at 89-96 with 8:44 left in the
game on a Doug Kramer basket but Sta. Lucia's Kelly Williams scored
all his team's pts. in a 9-3 run that brought their lead back up to
double figures.
· Williams finished with 25 pts, 6 rebs and 2 asts. while import
Wesley Wilson matched Williams' 25 while coming up with 6 shotblocks,
5 rebs and 2 asts.
· The Realtors forced Air21 into a 2nd-conference-worst 29 turnovers,
which which they translated into a 33-9 edge in pts. off them.
· Sta. Lucia also won despite being outrebounded by Air21 54-37.
· The Realtors outscored the Express 27-2 in fastbreak pts.
· Sta. Lucia is now 5-1 this conference when limiting opponents to not
more than 100 pts. in a game and are 0-2 otherwise.
· The Realtors were No. 1 in the previous conference in pts. allowed,
limiting opponents to just 91.0 ppg.
· In last season's Fiesta Conference, Sta. Lucia, with Rock Winston as
import, was 3-4 after 7 games before going on a 5-game losing streak.
· Talk 'N Text is 1 of only 3 teams with a conference-most 4 locals
averaging in double figures in scoring, the other 2 teams being
Purefoods and Magnolia.
· Top players (rankings through Wed's games):

Talk 'N Text

· Aaron McGhee 21.7 ppg, 48% 3pt (13/27), 11.2 rpg, 2.2 apg
· No. 1 overall in 3pt shooting (among those with at least 12 made),
7th in scoring, 8th in rebounding
· Mac-Mac Cardona 19.4 ppg, 43% 3pts (17/40), 53% FG, 5.2 rpg, 3.8 apg
· 5th overall in 3pt shooting, 6th in FT% (84.2%) and in FG%
· Is the only player in the Top 10 in those 3 categories
· 2nd among locals in scoring, after Caguioa's 24.3 (10th overall),
3rd FG%, 5th in FT%, 4th in 3pt shooting
· Jimmy Alapag 14.0 ppg, 37% 3pts (20/54), 4.6 rpg, 5.4 apg, 1.1 spg
· 3rd overall in assists, 2nd among locals (to Helterbrand's 6.9)
· 10th among locals in 3pt shooting
· Jay Washington 13.3 ppg, 36% 3pt (13/36), 5.9 rpg, 1.3 apg
· Don Allado 10.9 ppg, 42% 3pts (13/31), 52% FG, 7.0 rpg, 1.7 apg
· Tied for 8th overall in FG%, tied for 5th among locals
· 6th overall in 3pt shooting, 4th among locals
· Sta. Lucia
· Wesley Wilson 23.1 ppg, 51% FG, 10.0 rpg, 2.4 bpg
· 3rd overall in shotblocks, 5th in scoring, 10th in rebounding
· Kelly Williams 19.3 ppg, 9.6 rpg, 1.5 apg
· 2nd among locals in rebounding (behind Taulava's 11.1), 4th in scoring
· Ryan Reyes 12.3 ppg, 42% 3pt, 5.0 rpg, 4.8 apg, 2.4 spg
· No. 1 overall in steals
· Was also No. 1 in steals overall in the previous conference with his
1.710 average
· Prior to today's playdate is the only rookie and 1 of 3 locals in
the conference averaging at least 10 pts, 5 rebs and 4 asts, the other
2 being Purefoods' Kerby Raymundo and Air21's Wynne Arboleda
· Is 1 of only 3 rookies averaging in double figures in scoring in
this conference, the other 2 being Coca-Cola's Ronjay Buenafe and
Welcoat's Joe Devance.
· Was the only rookie who played in this year's All-Star Game in
Bacolod City last Apr. 27.
· Bitoy Omolon 9.9 rpg, 5.4 rpg, 1.1 apg, 1.4 spg
· Tied for 4th overall in steals, tied for 3rd among locals

Out-of-town records

Talk 'N Text This conference 0-1
· Lost to Coca-Cola 87-79 in the conference-opening game in Panabo
City, Daval del Norte last Mar. 29
Last conference 0-1
· Lost to Purefoods 112-97 last Oct. 19 in Dumaguete City
Last season 3-3 (3-0 in the Fiesta Conference)
· The Phone Pals actually have a 10-3 overall record in out-of-town
games in the past 4 Fiesta Conferences
· TNT has not won on the road since a 90-82 decision over Purefoods in
Cavite City May 24 last year in this very same conference last season.

Sta. Lucia This conference 1-0
· Defeated Barangay Ginebra in Tacloban City 101-97 last Apr. 12
Last conference 0-2
Last season 1-3 3rd-worse
· Only win was a 102-90 decision over Talk 'N Text in the Philippine
Cup Oct. 28, 2006 in San Fernando, Pampanga in the Philippine Cup.
· Despite that win over the Kings, the Realtors still have actually
lost 7 of their last 9 out-of-town games dating back to the Philippine
Cup 2 seasons ago.
· The Realtors' only other win in that stretch was a 102-90 decision
over Talk 'N Text in San Fernando, Pampanga on Oct. 28, 2006 in the
Philippine Cup last season.
· Both teams are meeting on the road for the 7th time since Mobiline
took over the Pepsi franchise starting in the 1996 Commissioner's Cup.
· Both teams are squaring off against each other on the road for the
1st time since that Oct. 28, 2006 meeting in San Fernando, Pampanga in
the last season's Philippine Cup.
· Sta. Lucia has actually won its last 2 out-of-town meetings against
the Phone Pals and has a 5-1 edge overall against on the road against
the Talk 'N Text/Mobiline franchise:
· Oct. 28 '06 06-'07 Phil Cup Sn Fdo, Pampanga SLR 102, TNT 90
· Nov. 12 '05 '05-'06 Fiesta Zamboanga City SLR 100, TNT 97
· Apr. 30 '05 '05 Fiesta Cavite City TNT 98, SLR 92
· Nov. 30 '04 '04-'05 Phil Cup Puerto Princesa City SLR 104, TNT 102
· July 1 '01 '00 Comm Cup Lipa City SLR 94, Mobiline 68
· Mar. 1 '97 '97 All-Fil Cup Sn Fdo, Pampanga SLR 66, Mobiline 64

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