The Barangay Ginebra Kings came from behind to edge the Sta. Lucia Realtors, 92-90, Sunday night for a 1-0 lead in their best-of-three quarterfinals series in the 2008 PBA Fiesta Conference. Mark Caguioa again came off the bench to lead Ginebra's offense, pouring in 30 points and grabbing seven rebounds as the Kings made a gigantic spurt in the fourth quarter after trailing most of the way. It was the seventh straight win by the Kings dating back to the elimination rounds. Ginebra needs another win against Sta. Lucia on Wednesday to arrange a best-of-7 semifinals duel with the Red Bull Barakos. Caguioa went 11-of-14 from the foul line, the last two sealing the game for the Kings, 92-87, with six seconds left in the game. Caguioa sparked a big Kings' comeback in the second half, rallying Ginebra from as much as a 15-point deficit at the start of the third period to an 83-74 lead midway into the fourth. But Kelly Williams hit back-to-back three-pointers and the Realtors closed within 90-87 inside the final minute of the game to pave the way for the down-the-wire finish. In the first game, the Magnolia Beverage Masters whipped the Coca-Cola Tigers, 108-96, in their own quarterfinals series to move to within another win of advancing to the semifinals of the conference. Lordy Tugade scored 20 points and grabbed a career-best 15 rebounds to lead the Beverage Masters against the Tigers, who got mediocre performances from their two imports. Magnolia can arrange a showdown against the Air21 Express with another win in Game 2 of their series. Amal McCaskill and Lordy Tugade each scored 20 points for Magnolia, but winning coach Siot Tanquingcen said it was his team's defense that spelled the big difference in the opener of the best-of-three series against Coca-Cola. “We somehow played good defense on (Coke import Jason) Dixon, and at the same time caught him on an off-night,” said Tanquingcen. Dixon could only produce six points - his lowest in the tournament. He was held scoreless in the first half and to only two through three quarters. The other Tigers' import, Brandon Dean, also played poorly, scoring a mere eight points on 4-of-17 shooting, an output that did not speak well for a player who was named Most Valuable Player in the CBA Playoffs in the United States last year. Magnolia led as many as 16 points in the first half and by 17 late in the fourth quarter. Three other players contributed double-digit outputs for Magnolia. Mike Cortez had 18 points, and Dondon Hontiveros and Danny Ildefonso added 13 apiece as the Beverage Masters shook off the absence of Danny Seigle, who was still recovering from a mild strained quadriceps. Asi Taulava had 20 points and 12 rebounds and Nic Belasco added 17 points for the Tigers, who are in danger of getting eliminated in the quarterfinals for the second straight conference after losing to the Alaska Aces in the Philippine Cup. Magnolia 108 - McCaskill 20, Tugade 20, Cortez 18, Hontiveros 13, Ildefonso 13, Pingris 8, Bono 7, Pena 6, Racela 3, Villanueva 0, Gonzales 0. Coca-Cola 96 - Taulava 20, Belasco 17, Buenafe 15, Cabagnot 12, Macapagal 9, Catli 9, Dean 8, Dixon 6, Dimaunahan 0, Misolas 0. Quarters: 30-18; 51-41; 76-72; 108-96. Ginebra 92 - Caguioa 30, Alexander 19, Artadi 11, Helterbrand 11, Mamaril 8, Valenzuela 8, Salvacion 5, Pacana 0, Wilson 0, Menk 0 Sta. Lucia 90 - Williams 24, Benson 23, Omolon 17, Reyes 9, Yeo 9, Aquino 4, Miranda 2, Espino 2, Mendoza 0 Quarters: 14-24, 37-42, 62-66, 92-90. __
