BATANG Red Bull formalized their entry to the semifinals of the 2007 Talk ’N Text PBA Fiesta Conference after the Barakos registered a heart-stopping 105-103 victory yesterday over the Coca Cola Tigers at the Araneta Coliseum.
The win was the Barakos’ fourth-straight and their 13th in the eliminations, giving them a 13-5 record that secured their spot in the semifinals.
Had Red Bull lost, it would’ve complicated things for the boys of Barakos coach Yeng Guiao due to possible ties that would have necessitated a playoff to determine the two outright semifinalists.
The Coca-Cola Tigers, for their part, ended their elimination round campaign with a 7-11 mark although the loss hardly affected their current status as they are already confined to the wild card phase.
Cyrus Baguio played a monster game for the Barakos on a night when their import, James Penny, was hobbled by foul trouble in the third canto.
Leader
Baguio ended the game with 26 markers on top of six assists to lead all Red Bull scorers, while Penny eked out 13 points, grabbed 15 boards, made two steals and three blocks in helping spoil the debut of new Tigers import Rashad Bell.
The 6-foot-5 Bell, the third import of the Tigers, was brought in to replace Jeff Varem, who was relegated to the reserve list due to an injury.
Bell inked a total of 39 points, snared 13 caroms and made three assists in his PBA debut.
Both teams engaged each other in a tightly-fought battle in the final quarter as neither allowed each other to break away.
Steal
The last time the Tigers took the lead was in the last 57.9 seconds of the final period, 103-102, after Kenneth Duremdes completed a coast-to-coast drive after stealing the leather from Red Bull’s Junthy Valenzuela.
But the Barakos regained the edge after Penny made a strong drive over Bell in the middle and Baguio sealed the Barakos’ win by going two-out-of-two in the free throw area for the final tally. (JSV)
