MANILA, 19 May 2007 — Red Bull welcomed back its coach and may have just given Welcoat the pink slip for the PBA Fiesta Cup.
The defending champion Bulls were overpowering in a 103-81 romp over newcomer Dragons last night, the first game back for Yeng Guiao and possibly the blow that finally eliminated Welcoat from further contention in the import-spiced tournament.
James Penny scored 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in just 30 minutes in leading the Bulls to their 10th win in 15 games, now just a breath behind the league-leading Barangay Ginebra Gin Kings, who battle Talk ‘N Text in an out-of-town sortie in Butuan today.
The Phone Pals are one of the hottest teams in the tournament and Ginebra a side that suddenly went cold. Talk ‘N Text will come into the 6 p.m. game the winner of five of its last six games and the Kings losers of their last two. “I hope that this is a good omen for our remaining three games, — Guiao, who went on leave for 45 days to campaign for Pampanga vice-governor, which he handily won, in the last elections, said.“Our goal is still to make the semifinals outright, and I commend the boys for doing a good job at keeping us within range even when I was out.”
Alaska was a side that also stayed in range, ripping Purefoods off the boards in the second game en route to a 104-92 destruction of the Tender Juicy Giants also at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Bulls were in their elements early, opening up a 25-12 lead to dampen the morale of the Dragons, before closing out the half with a 48-30 lead Welcoat didn’t even come close to overhauling.
Carlo Sharma, probably the most under-rated pure center in the league today, added 18 points and eight rebounds while Larry Fonacier chipped in with 11 points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal.
The loss was the second straight for the Dragons, who breathed some life in their campaign after an upset victory over the Phone Pals two weeks ago.
But last night, they played as if they never had a chance, as Red Bull pounced on every scoring opportunity and challenged every Welcoat shot defensively. The Dragons dropped to 3-12 and would likely miss the cut in their second straight tournament.
For Alaska, there was no meltdown in the second game as the Aces imposed their will all throughout to also rebounds from a loss and improve to 10-5 overall.
Willie Miller scored 19 of his 26 points in the third quarter to lead the Aces to the easy victory. Rosell Ellis was the high-point man for Alaska with 29. Purefoods, severely depleted by injuries to key personnel and the commitment to lend Kerby Raymundo to the National team, dropped to 5-11. The Giants have two assignments remaining, one of them against the Dragons.
Alaska was such in control that it led by 49-37 at the half and outrebounded the Giants thoroughly, 65-33 for the game.
Marquin Chandler tried to do it by his lonesome for the Giants, shooting 36 points and finishing with 14 rebounds. Roger Yap added 15 points and James Yap 14 for Purefoods, which finished second to Red Bull here last year.
