MANILA, 22 July 2006 — There were no miraculous comebacks last night, only the comeback of the year will be remembered for a long time to come.

Purefoods, a team that was not supposed to be here to begin with, wrapped up its PBA Philippine Cup series with Red Bull at 4-2 after a methodical 90-83 manhandling of the fighting Barako.

It was a win that gifted the franchise its first title since 2002 and a victory that sweetened the pot, so to speak, when one looks back at the magnificent climb the Chunkee Giants climbed in the semifinal series when they trailed Alaska, 1-3.

The Araneta Coliseum floor was littered with confetti, balloons dropped from everywhere and bubbly was sprayed all over as Purefoods returned to the pinnacle of success after going through countless adversities that included one wheelchair-bound player.

“We really wanted to end it tonight. What a relief,” said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio, a champion for the second time in his coaching career and the fourth Purefoods coach to win an all-Filipino crown.

“Lady luck has been good to us all year long.’’ Well maybe, Gregorio forgot about Eugene Tejada for a short time there.

Tejada, who was paralyzed from the waist down after a horrendous fall, also in a game against the Barako a couple of months back, wasn’t present last night. But the rest of the team readily dedicated the championship romp to their fallen teammate.

All those in the Purefoods team actually tore off the No. 33 pinned on their jerseys just for last night’s game. Gregorio said that they didn’t want Red Bull to pull even at 3-3, replacing Tejada’s number with the ET initials.

It was entirely for Eugene Tejada, though, but for the team to have an “End Tonight” battlecry.

Purefoods hung tough in the most important game of its season, holding off comeback after comeback by the Barako with Kerby Raymundo and James Yap leading the way.

Raymundo, who lost to Yap in the Most Valuable Player balloting two weeks back, scattered 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in more than 40 minutes on the floor, attacking the Red Bull defense inside with uncanny ease.

He spun around all defenders thrown at him - Enrico Villanueva, Mick Pennisi and even Cyrus Baguio - as the Giants led from start to finish and didn’t give Red Bull the breathing room it needed in the stretch.

Yap, on the other hand, was like a cold-blooded assassin, hitting shots at will from the outside to open up the lanes for Purefoods’ big men to operate.

The former University of the East ace wound up with 25 points and Kris Aquino, the once-controversial daughter of former President Aquino, was the proudest supporter in the gallery for the 2006 season MVP.

Marc Pingris was amply rewarded for his gargantual efforts that started late in this tournament, walking away with the Finals MVP in runaway style. The rebounding demon who debuted in the PBA in an Air21 uniform finished with 10 points and 17 rebounds for Gregorio.

Lordy Tugade led Red Bull’s losing cause with 21 markers and Junethy Valenzuela scattered 19 points in the loss that would keep Yeng Guiao in the hot seat for the franchise in the years to come.

Guaio, the mercurial four-time PBA champion coach, had hinted on retirement had Red Bull won this championship, the only one missing from his trophy case.

But the result of the series could spur him to strive even more and stay for another tour of duty with the team he has mentored since its debut back in 2000.

One man who ended a long drought last night was Jun Limpot, relegated to a back-up role at Purefoods after being considered, for a long time, to be one of the most dependable franchise players in this league.

The Rookie of the Year in 1993, Limpot finally ended 13 years of fruitless campaigns with teams that were built around him - with Sta. Lucia and with the Barangay Ginebra Kings. And now that he was accustomed to coming off the bench, the native of Surigao finally delivered, playing steady the entire series while capping a resurgence of sorts with a nine-point effort last night.