MANILA, 9 November 2004 — Playing minus their three Fil-Ams and missing two reliable veterans, the short-handed Red Bull Barakos could not match up properly against the Gin Kings in terms of manpower on Sunday as Ginebra walked away with a 100-94 win in the Gran Matador-PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Without Davonn Harp and Mick Pennisi to bottle them up down low, Romel Adducul and Eric Menk had a fest time against the leaner Omanzie Rodriguez and younger Enrico Villanueva as Red Bull had problems defending against Ginebra’s premier frontliners.
Adducul finished with 26 points and 19 rebounds in a dominant performance that somehow served as a statement that he could take on any local big man in the absence of the bigger and stronger Fil-Ams.
On offense, the Barakos’ point production also took a dip with the absence of former Most Valuable Player Vergel Meneses and Nelson Asaytono.
Meneses, the supposed go-to-guy of the Barakos, missed the game due to back spasm while Asaytono failed to suit up because of a severe pulled thigh muscle injury.
With some of the best players not playing for Red Bull, the Gin Kings seized the advantage. The Gin Kings’ offensive might came into fore in the second half when they unloaded 37 points en route to a 63-55 lead at the turn.
From there on, it was all Ginebra, except in the last few minutes when it allowed Red Bull to mount a comeback behind the Barakos’ 16-2 run.
Notwithstanding, Ginebra broke out of a four-team logjam and moved up to third place behind leader Talk ‘N’ Text (6-1) and Shell (5-2) with its fifth win in eight games. Red Bull also managed to beat Ginebra off the boards, 52-50. Three other Kings also scored in double digits. Jayjay Helterbrand had 20, Mark Caguioa turned in 16 and Eric Menk added 13. The Kings were comfortably ahead after Caguioa hit a 16-footer for 92-70 advantage with nine minutes remaining.
Sensing the Barakos were already down and out, the Kings started playing lackluster ball, allowing the Barakos to slowly claw back. A turnaround shot and a free throw by Jimwel Torion pulled the Barakos within 87-94 with 4:30 left. But the rally fell short as Red Bull committed crucial turnovers when they needed to score. Torion scored 21 points and Lordy Tugade added 19 for the Barakos.
In the other game, Marlou Aquino displayed renewed enthusiasm and the Sta. Lucia Realtors finally heaved a sigh of relief, snapping a six-game losing skid with a 86-69 victory over the Coca-Cola Tigers. But the “Man-of-the-Hour” award easily belongs to Nelbert Omolon, who turned in a career-high 21 points, including nine in the fourth quarter when the Realtors stemmed a belated rally by the Tigers. He also had eight boards, two assists and three steals.
Sta. Lucia’s first win of the season turned out to be costly though, with Kenneth Duremdes taken out in the third with a pulled hamstring that might keep him out for quite some time.
Aquino, a non-factor in Sta. Lucia’s first six games, collected 18 points and seven boards while Duremdes added 14 before hurting himself. John Arigo scored 18 points and Rafi Reavis had 11 points and 10 rebounds for the Tigers, who absorbed their fourth loss against the same number of wins.
