MANILA, 15 May 2008 — Yeng Guiao prepared his Red Bull squad hard for Welcoat, and his Barako played as hard as they could and got the chance to prepare for a tougher grind ahead.

Red Bull broke away right in the first half and coasted to a 109-88 decision of the Dragons to not only regain the lead in the Fiesta Cup but more importantly, Guiao was able to rest his aces going into a crucial match with Alaska next week.

“We had a good start. Everyone was playing well and our confidence got high early in the game and that built the momentum,” Guiao said later after his squad equaled the second highest total in three-point shots made with 18. “We got into a zone and we just rode on that momentum.” Cyrus Baguio got the ball rolling at a high pace for the Barako, shooting 14 of his total in the opening frame as Red Bull opened up double digit leads on the way to hiking its record to 7-2 after the first half of the eliminations.

Relief point guard Warren Ibañez came off the bench and shot all of his career-high tying 14 points in the first two periods, hitting four triples and a layup that helped usher the Barako to a 59-37 lead at the turn.

Red Bull would later bloat this to 82-49 with 4:21 left in the third quarter, when Jojo Duncil completed a three-point play off Joey Mente and sealed the Dragonsâ€(tm) second loss in five games and sixth in nine games overall. As a result, Baguio was on the floor for only 20 minutes and import Adam Parada played just 26 as both stalwarts remained fresh in time for Alaska .

The win sustained Red Bull’s surprising run in the tournament, one where the Barako were not given much of a chance after they had traded Junthy Valenzuela to Magnolia for a song which left a huge vacuum in the lineup.

But the Barako have surprised even their coach, with Baguio taking the scoring cudgels and Adam Parada proving to be a perfect fit while becoming the yardstick among imports in the tournament.

Coca-Cola failed to keep in step with the Barako, dropping out of the lead after taking a 99-91 loss at the hands of a resurgent Alaska side in the second game.

The Aces were also on their skates right from the get-go, closing out the first two quarters with a 54-26 lead before battling hard in the stretch to snap a four-game losing streak and tie Welcoat for eighth spot.

Reigning MVP Willie Miller, Sonny Thoss and LA Tenorio were already in twin digits after the first half for the Aces, their combined total of 35 more than enough to lead the entire Coca-Cola crew after two periods.

But it was Miller who provided the shots that mattered in the clutch as the Aces survived blowing several 30-point leads early in the third quarter.

Coca-Cola lost for just the third time in nine games and dropped to a share of second with idle Talk ‘N Text as the Tigers never got into the groove with their two imports struggling early. Miller scored a personal tournament-best 34 points, 13 of them in the final period, and he got more than ample support from Randy Holcomb, who fired 14 of his 20 in the final frame.

Jason Dixon led the Tigers with 33, 12 rebounds, three blocks and three steals.