MANILA, 27 September — It’s like reaching the peak of Mt. Improbable. Blessed with a champion’s heart and winning character, Red Bull retained the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) crown in grand style after beating Talk ‘N’Text in a thriller of a finals showdown.

Thanks to the battle-tested neophytes of Red Bull. And, of course, thanks to their guru, the brilliant coach Yeng Guiao.

"I’ve been in seven championship series before and I think this is one of the hardest I’ve ever been in," said Guiao moments after his crew scored a 67-60 win over the Phone Pals in the deciding Game Seven of their title playoff. "This is probably the most tiring and draining finals I have ever been in. I’m just fatigued right now," Guiao said.

"They (Phone Pals) did not just give us 40 minutes of hell. They gave us seven games of hell," said Guiao, who ties current national coach Jong Uichico, the late Ed Ocampo and now-Sen. Robert Jaworski with four titles each tucked under his belts.

"But as always, the harder it is, the sweeter it tastes," he said, citing the words of the legendary mentor Baby Dalupan, who has the most number of league titles at 15. Actually, the Thunder never led in the best-of-seven series and had to pull off victories in Games Six and Seven to wrap up the September classic 4-3 and keep the mid-season title they won last year.

What made the win even sweeter was the fact Guiao took a big gamble as he replaced the Thunder’s import Antonio Lang, who was their acknowledged team leader, and bring in Sean Lampley going into Game 4 of the series with the team falling behind one-game-to-two.

Yet the Thunder felt winning the crown the hard way made it more memorable than their first championship in the same tournament last year.

And at the expense of Lang. "Somehow, that’s the bitter part of it, we had to part ways. But we’re convinced that it had to be done," said Guiao. Guiao refused to consider their win as vindication in their move to remove their former prized reinforcement. "This is not vindication. Had we lost, it would not mean we made the bad move. It was an issue of principle. We’re ready to lose the championship rather than lose our principle."

Guiao said they initially entertained the idea of dropping Lang after the Thunder lost the series opener 100-102. Their decision, however, was only finalized after a 71-80 defeat in Game 3. In both games, last year’s best import winner played far below expectations.

Guiao said the former Duke standout failed to live up to the fans’ and team’s expectations. "Our expectations of Tony from last year were so high, so he was a victim of that," he said. It turned out, Guiao’s gamble paid off wonderfully.

Lampley, who played a single game for Red Bull in the season-opening Governor’s Cup and was management’s first option to replace Lang, proved to be the right choice. "We started having doubts as early as in the first game. It’s good after Game Three, we had time to find a new import. We knew if we picked the wrong import, we’re dead," said Guiao.

Lampley averaged 17.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists in his first three games before churning out 18 points and 11 rebounds in Game 7, aside from providing help defense on Talk ‘N’Text import Pete Mickeal. Davonn Harp, Jimwell Torion, Junthy Valenzuela and Willie Miller stood out among Red Bull’s locals.

As their reward, Harp and Torion were named Most Valuable Players of the finals by the PBA Press Corps. The Pampangueno bench taskmaster credited the entire team for their winning character that enbaled them to complete a tough task of having to recover from a 2-3 deficit in what turned out to be a classic title playoff.

"In a seven-game series ending in Game Seven, it’s not about coaching anymore but the heart of the players. It’s not about coaching but the desire of the guys to play and win. The guys showed they have that," he quipped.

Ironically, it was the Thunder’s Nigerian import, Julius Nwosu, who was almost fired after coming up with just four points in a 55-77 defeat in Game 5.

But in the last two games, it was Nwosu who stepped up big. The hulking yet fleet-footed 6-foot-9 import led the Thunder with 28 points, aside from hauling down 14 rebounds and had two blocks in Game 6 before scoring 16 points, grabbing 15 boards and another two swats in the deciding game. Winning his very first PBA championship, surely was an entirely different experience for him. During the boisterous Red Bull celebration after the final buzzer, the former Purefoods reinforcement, who played four conferences in the league, was yelling: "Manila, I came through."

"I’ve never been happier in my life!" Nwosu kept shouting in the mid-court celebration. Guiao said the series was not a personal battle between him, a former Basketball Coaches Association of the Philippines (BCAP) president, and the controversial Phone Pals coach Bill Bayno, whose appointment the BCAP had opposed.

"It is the desire of one team to retain the championship and another aiming to win its first title. Our desire was probably stronger than theirs," he said. Bayno and assistant Ariel Vanguardia wept openly after their players have filed into their dugout, heads bowed.

Afterward, Bayno gave a short speech, mainly thanking the players for getting to the finals. He even shook hands with every one, including the series’ biggest disappointment, their import Jerald Honeycutt.

Against Harp and Nwosu, Honeycutt, the Best Import awardee, proved to be a non-factor in the last two games after averaging close to 24 points and 11 rebounds in the first five matches. The Tulasne U product from Louisiana only had 18 points in Game 6 and 12 the next match. In both games, he made a combined grand total of five points in the crucial fourth period.

The lack of able support for Honeycutt and gallant partner Mickeal at the crunch proved costly for the Phone Pals, who also blew a similar 3-2 lead while carrying the colors of Mobiline in the 1998 Governors Cup finals against Shell.

Curiously, there were rumors after the series that the volatile American coach would most likely not be back as coach of the Phone Pals for the PBA All-Filipino set to start in the third week of October. Bayno is reported to have informed management that he’s quitting his job because he’s no longer "happy" with the league he joined only at the start of this season.

It was not just the Phone Pals defeat to the Thunder that may prompt Bayno to pack up his bags for good and return home. The BCAP had opposed from the start the appointment of the former University of Nevada-Las Vegas mentor and even elevated the case to the labor department.

Bayno had also accumulated a record fine of 280,000 pesos for calling the PBA a "San Miguel Corporation league," accosting the game officials and sending coaching instructions to the bench despite being ejected in a game against Alaska in the semifinals of the Commissioner’s Cup.