MANILA, 27 May 2005 — Barangay Ginebra uncorked a blinding 18-1 run in the second half Wednesday night as the defending champions defeated FedEx, 106-97, in the Gran Matador PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.
With the win, Ginebra firmed up their place at No. 7, now a full game in front of joint eighth placers Purefoods and Shell.
A loss by either Purefoods against Alaska or Shell versus Coca-Cola assures Ginebra of a best-of-three stint in the first round of the playoffs. If both the Hotdogs and the Turbo Chargers win, the Kings still avoid a twice-to-win task with a win in their closing game in the classification round against the Talk n Text Phone Pals today.
“We’re not yet totally out of the woods. But the good thing is that our fate is still in our hands,” said Ginebra coach Siot Tanquingcen.
After falling behind by 17 midway through the second quarter, the Kings got back in the thick of things practically in a wink of an eye as they even grabbed a 49-48 edge at the half.
Mark Caguioa starred in Ginebra’s second-quarter charge, and Andre Brown, Romel Adducul and Egay Echavez took over in the third as the Kings seized the tempo by the end of the quarter, 78-69.
The Kings took full control, 89-69, as they started with a
13-0 run in the last canto.
Coach Tanquingcen enjoyed the luxury of resting Caguioa the whole fourth quarter after the streak-shooting guard exploded for 19 in the first 36 minutes of play. Caguioa is set to play for the RP team in the Champions Cup starting Sunday.
Renren Ritualo paced the Express with 25 points but was limited to only two points in the fourth period. Wesley Gonzales, who erupted for a career-high 23 points the last time out, was held down to two the entire game. Anthony Miller had 21 points and 23 rebounds.
In the second game, Danny Ildefonso, a two-time MVP winner, came through with big plays against defender Enrico Villanueva at crunch time as San Miguel Beer whipped Red Bull, 72-66, to stay in strong contention for an outright entry into the semifinals.
Ildefonso scored seven straight points all against Villanueva in the homestretch as San Miguel scored a payback win over Red Bull to once again draw level with Alaska Milk at second place with identical 10-7
win-loss cards.
“Thanks to Danny’s breakout game for the crucial win, but we still have to work hard to have a shot at the outright semis seat,” said San Miguel coach Jong Uichico.
With five teams still fighting it out for the two outright seats to the semis, the Beermen really need to win their last game in the double-round classifications against the FedEx Express Friday.
Floundering at the finish against San Miguel, Red Bull finished outside the Magic Four with a closing 9-9 record. At sixth place, the Barakos settled for a best-of-three series stint in the wildcard plays.
Ildefonso churned out 18 points, six rebounds, two blocks, one assist and one steal in easily his best performance since his comeback last May 5. He averaged only 4.8 points and three rebounds in his first five games.
