MANILA, 21 May 2004 — Victor Thomas saved the day for Red Bull, leading the Barakos to a hard-earned 101-98 win that stoked their drive for a cherished goal in the Gran Matador PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.

The reed-thin Thomas scored the go-ahead basket and had two crucial blocks, all inside the final 19 seconds, as Red Bull carved out the win, the team’s third straight.

In all, Thomas had team-highs of 26 points and 13 rebounds as the Barakos improved to a 9-7 record that pushed them into a tie for third place with idle Alaska and Talk N’ Text.

The win came despite Harp scoring only seven points and hauling down just six rebounds, way below his averages of 16.7 points and 10.9 rebounds.

Torraye Braggs had game-highs of 38 points and 15 rebounds and Eric Menk chipped in 23 and 11 but Ginebra still had its two-game skein cut short as the Kings dropped to 7-9.

The outcome was much closer than in Red Bull’s cruising 99-90 win the first time they met last March 20.

Ginebra managed to take an early 12-point lead while Red Bull enjoyed as much as an 11-point spread.

Despite Andy Seigle and Sunday Salvacion fouling out one after the other in the final three minutes, the Kings still came charging back from a 48-59 deficit and even grabbed a 98-97 edge after Braggs’ offensive rebound and a floater, 23.5 ticks left.

But Thomas rose to the occasion.

After a Red Bull timeout, he put on a beautiful spin move against two defenders to give Red Bull the lead.

Ginebra’s bid in its ensuing offensive was foiled when Thomas blocked Braggs from behind, leading to a pair of Jimwell Torion charities that made the count 101-98.

Whatever hopes the Kings had of equalizing was foiled by Thomas anew when he pulled off his final block on Mark Caguioa.

Ginebra pounced on Red Bull scoring only two points in the last six minutes of the first quarter to race to a 27-14 lead.

In the midst of a big Kings’ surge, the Barakos went 0-of-6 from the field and committed two turnovers that had coach Siot Tanquingcen’s wards taking as much as a 22-10 spread.

In the second game, the FedEx Express turned to their second unit to overhaul a 14- point deficit but their rally fell short as they bowed to the Sta. Lucia Realtors, 117- 111.

Dissatisfied with the lackluster play of his starting unit, FedEx coach Joe Lipa made a platoon substitution replacing all five players on the floor with 8:37 to go in the third quarter and the Realtors holding 65- 51 lead.

The ploy worked as the Express came charging back behind the heroics of Renren Ritualo, Winnie Arboleda and Marc Pingris. The Express even took the lead briefly 97-96 but eventually fell behind when Marlou Aquino and Dennis Espino asserted themselves inside the paint.

“This is the first time for me to face my mentor (Joe Lipa) in a game in the PBA,” said Sta. Lucia coach Alfrancis Chua.

Sta. Lucia import Derrick Brown again provided the clutch baskets for the Realtors, scoring 12 fourth quarter points to lead his team after FedEx made their scorching comeback.