MANILA, 31 May 2007 — Coach Yeng Guiao called it “unfamiliar territory,” yet this is the first truly great thing to happen to Red Bull in the PBA Fiesta Cup.
The defending champion Bulls marched on to the Final Four after a 105-103 victory over Coca-Cola last night, topping the elimination round despite going through numerous adversities all throughout the tournament.
Guiao admitted to having carried “baggages” all tournament long, their emotional state compounded by the fact that Enrico Villanueva was dealt to San Miguel just two days before the Bulls were to gun for an outright semis slot.
But the Bulls didn’t show traces of missing anyone last night, with Cyrus Baguio shooting 26 points and James Penny hitting the team’s last four points aside from coming up with the defensive play of the game.
Red Bull, which won this tournament at the expense of Purefoods in six games last year, closed out its elimination round stint with a 13-5 card to nail the first automatic slot in the semifinals.
“There were some (emotional) baggages, yes,” said Guiao, who also had to abandon the team for 45 days to concentrate on his campaign in Pampanga during the last elections. “The way we achieved this (No. 1 seeding) was through the hard way.
“And now, we’re in unfamiliar territory because we’ve never made it to the semifinals (outright) before,” he added. “We don’t know how to handle this vacation. We have to be able to manage it right so as not to get rusty and stay competitive.”
Meanwhile, Air21 remained mathematically in the hunt for the last outright semifinal berth after surviving San Miguel 109-107, in the second game at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Express, who rose to 10-7, got the job done even with leading local scorer Gary David limping out late in the second quarter to snap a three-game losing streak and halt the tournament’s longest winning run at eight games.
San Miguel, which played Villanueva, lost for the first time in close to two months, and the Beermen formally bowed out of the semifinal race at 9-8 with a game left in their assignment - against Talk ‘N Text on Sunday.
Air21 advanced to the quarterfinals at the very least, marking the first time in the last three conferences that the Express made it beyond the wildcard phase.
“It showed that we can win against the hottest team without our hottest player,” Air21 coach Bo Perasol said, referring to the Beermen and David, who immediately went to the hospital to have an MRI scan on his right leg.
“We’re just hoping that the injury is not that serious,” Perasol, whose last game will be against Barangay Ginebra also scheduled Sunday, added. “He is a vital ingredient to our team.”
The Tigers unveiled a gem of a reinforcement in Rashad Bell, but still wound up with a 7-11 tally after their new import was intimidated by Penny in the potential game-winning play for Coca-Cola in the sying seconds. Still, Bell , the former Boston University standout, gave Guiao and the rest of the team the fits all night.
“We were actually lucky to come out winning that game,” Guiao, who earned a fresh mandate as Pampanga vice-governor, said. “We never knew anything about their import ( Bell ) other than what we saw during the game.”
Mike Hrabak, signed by the team when Mick Pennisi was recruited to the National Team, played so well that it looked like he was there for Villanueva. The 6-foot-6 Fil-American hit 15 points when the Bulls rallied in the second period and finished with 17.
Villanueva was traded to San Miguel on Monday for Rommel Adducul, whom the Bulls elected not to use with Guiao also hinting on another transfer for Adducul in the coming days.
“We need a post up presence,” Guiao said, when asked if Adducul was going to be traded again. “Puede si Rommel if he will stay with the team. But we need someone who is a threat (offensively like Villanueva) on the shaded lane.”
Sophomore forward Larry Fonacier also had his shining moments by hitting eight of his 10 points in the final period while issuing at least two crucial feeds that kept the Bulls within striking distance.
But it was Penny who made all the difference in the stretch, scoring on a slam and then a short stab off Bell which sandwiched a breakaway layup by Kennth Duremdes for what turned out to be the final score. Duremdes had given the Tigers a 103-102 lead after stealing off Junthy Valenzuela, going coact-to-coast for his only basket for the night. And it looked like the Tigers would be going to finish off the Bulls before Alex Cabagnot was called for traveling and Bell couldn’t nail that shot off Penny.
Bell did finish with 39 points and 14 rebounds in his debut, but John Arigo and Ali Peek, the leading local scorers for the Tigers, wound up with just a combined 18 points with Arigo held to just five.
