Saturday, February 09, 2008 Red Bull shows steam, devours Juicy Giants
MANILA—The Red Bull Barakos displayed awesome firepower as they beat Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants, 123-97, yesterday to forge a close 3-3 tie in the best-of-seven semifinal series of the 33rd Smart-PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Red Bull, behind at 2-3 in the long series, turned the sixth game into a lopsided affair when Francis Adriano, Mick Pennisi and Junthy Valenzuela showed their full might as they stretched their lead to as much as 30 points late in the third quarter.
And all the Giants could do the rest of the way was reduce the gap to 22 points, 95-117, only 1:45 left in the match.
“All we wanted to do before the game was to drag them into the seventh game on Sunday and we got what we wanted. It’s a good win and a very convincing one. I think, we have the momentum now on our side,” said Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao, who owned five PBA titles already, three with the Barakos and two with the now defunct Swift Mighty Meaty.
Turning point
Odds are about even when both Purefoods and Red Bull dispute the second and last finals berth on Sunday. The other semifinalists Alaska and Sta. Lucia Realty were still playing at press time.
“Whoever has the heart and which of us has the most desire to win on Sunday, will win the series,” added Guiao, who is aiming for Red Bull’s first ever All-Filipino crown.
What compounded the woes of coach Ryan Gregorio’s Purefoods was James Yap’s foul trouble early in the match. The 2006 MVP, who ranked second in the conference’s shooting department with 21.6 points average, had already 4 fouls with still 3:17 remaining in the second quarter. The Escalante, Negros Occidental-born Yap finished with only 18 points.
“We made all the possible adjustment for us but we could only made a short rotation because Paolo Bugia and Leo Najorda are injured, but thanks to players like Francis Adriano, who stepped-up in their absence,” stressed Guiao.
The Barakos, who made it to the semifinals for the 6th straight time, found the right combination in Mick Pennisi, Mike Hrabak and Francis Adriano to surge to an early 10-1 lead, only two minutes into the game.
“I have not much expectation but only to play hard and do my bests every game. We really wanted to win the series and reach the finals,” said Adriano.
Scoring
Adriano topscored for the Barakos with 29 points, 6 rebounds and five assists, while Pennisi scored 23 and 18 points for Baguio.
Peter Jun Simon led Purefoods with 26 points followed by James Yap with 18 and 14 for rookie Chico Lanete.
Cyrus Baguio scored five straight points, while Adriano and Michael Hrabak added a basket each to post the Barakos first biggest lead, 20-1, still 7:27 left in the first period.
Red Bull, which is aiming for its 6th finals appearance since joining the league in 2000, continued with its run-and-gun rampage to maintain a big 20-point lead 66-46 at the end of the half.
So awesome was Adriano’s determination as he led the Barakos with 17 points in the first two quarters.
Baguio and Pennisi added 13 each that contributed the Barakos’ high 56.8 percent shooting to the Giants only 41 percent.
