MANILA - Mark Caguioa fired 33 points including two triples as Barangay Ginebra overcame Red Bull’s last ditch surge to post a 101-97 overtime triumph and sweep the best-of-seven semifinal series of the 2008 Smart-PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Kings, determine to secure their franchise best ever 12th straight victory, outscored the Barakos, 11-7, in the five-minute extension to reach the best-of-seven finals for the 17th time and their first since the 2006 Philippine Cup.
“Our never-say-die character was there and I told my players to just keep on playing and somewhere something good is going to happen,” said coach Jong Uichico, who likewise clinched his 12th finals appearance and second with the Kings.
No team yet has ever came back following 0-3 deficit in a best-of seven series, but the Barakos refused to yield to the Kings so easily and even led by 6 points, 90-84, still 2:35 remaining.
But a 6-0 blast ignited by Jay-Jay Helterbrand, Chris Alexander and Paul Artadi tied the match at 90 with still 43 seconds left in the match.
Deadlock
Both teams failed to break the deadlock as Richie Alvarez and Cyrus Baguio missed several opportunities paving way for the first overtime in the semifinal battle.
“I really played well to win. I don’t want to frustrate our fans who came to see us win. That was really a very big inspiration for me. We don’t want to put them (fans) down,” said Caguioa, who shot a high 50 percent clip from the three-point arc on 2 of 4 attempts and 15 of 25 in the field goal.
Sweep
Ginebra’s 4-0 sweep was the first in the past 10 best-of-seven semifinals series and the first sweep since the prolific import Tony Harris led Swift Mighty Meaty over Seven Up in the 1992 Third Conference best-of-seven finals.
It was an amazing performance by the Kings, who started the import-laden conference with a 0-5 card and still made it to the finals. San Miguel Beer then coached by Jong Uichico, also did it in the 2003 Reinforced Conference with Kwan Johnson as import.
And with the first finals slot already in the bag, the Kings now await the winner between Magnolia Beverage and Air 21, who were still playing at press time.
The Kings, who won Game 3 94-91, outrebounded the Barakos for the fourth straight time, 57-51. They opened the series with a 108-82 rout on July 20 and followed it up with a convincing 111-101 win in the second match last July 23.
Aside from Caguioa, Sunday Salvacion and the 7-foot Alexander—who pulled down 19 rebounds and three assists—also had 13 points apiece, while Artadi and Hilterbrand finished with similar 10 each.
Cyrus Baguio topscored for the Barakos with 26 and Adam Parada settled with 24 and Celino Cruz had 11.
