INQUIRER Sports

THERE WAS JAMES YAP, scribbling his signature all over a fourth-quarter charge by the Purefoods TJ Giants.

From the sidelines, his coach egged him on, asking him to channel whatever frustration he had bottled inside him into the court.

Everywhere, the action was dripping with emotion. For Purefoods, it spilled from an anger triggered by the Game 5 suspension of Yap, the team's resident MVP. For Sta. Lucia, it flowed from an indomitable will to nail a first-ever all-Filipino crown.

On Sunday, that clash of emotions hits its peak as the series injects an overdose of drama into the Purefoods-Sta. Lucia duel.

On Sunday, Game 7 unfolds with both teams expected to scratch, claw and clobber their way to the trophy.

"We want to end this tournament as the champion," Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio told reporters.

Gregorio is hoping to repeat something he pulled off in 2002, when he led Purefoods out of a 0-2 hole and into the Governors Cup crown.

Here's the problem: Sta. Lucia wants the title as much. Even more, in fact, going by coach Boyet Fernandez's words.

"Winning the championship in whatever way will make us happy," Fernandez said in Filipino.

The series has been peppered with highs and lows.

Behind a scorching offense that forced its defense to the backseat, the Realtors took the first two games of the race-to-four affair, setting the stage for what should have been a yawner.

But then, Purefoods stormed back and the physicality of both teams started manifesting itself in wayward chops that triggered a different war fought outside the hardcourt.

James Yap was suspended for a clothesline that nearly broke Joseph Yeo's face. It was a penalty that dragged the league to a muddy row. Yeo, too, got suspended, when he struck Noy Castillo in the waning seconds of a won Sta. Lucia match.

But after the fines, suspensions, resignations, leaves of absence and advertising pullouts, the series is now stuck at three games apiece, shifting the battle back to where it should be.

Yap, who frolicked in the fourth quarter of an 89-81 win that squared the contest for the league's prized trophy, will again lead the Giants charge the way he did when he ran 20 points in the final period of Game 6.

Kerby Raymundo and PJ Simon will provide extra ammunition against a Sta. Lucia defense known for its python-like constriction and a Realtors offense that comes from almost every spot on the floor.

Marc Pingris, who had a series-high 21 rebounds in Game 6, will continue his battle against Kelly Williams of Sta. Lucia. Williams, though, will have to exert extra effort as he is among those counted to deliver points.

"I think the Realtors self-destructed," said Gregorio. "I saw the balloons in the ceiling. My prayer was for the balloons not to fall down."

Fernandez admitted Sta. Lucia looked overwhelmed by the accomplishment that was within its grasp.

"Maybe it was just the prospect of winning a championship right away that made us tight," said the Sta. Lucia mentor. "The pressure is now over."