MANILA, 29 May 2008 — Seems like Barangay Ginebra coach Jong Uichico finally found the groove he was looking for his Gin Kings to have.
For how could one explain Ginebra losing Mark Caguioa in the first half last night and still see the Kings escape with an 87-76 destruction of powerhouse Magnolia in the eliminations of the Fiesta Cup?
“We have three (straight) wins already and I guess we are getting there,” Uichico told reporters later as his Kings sustained their steady climb out of the cellar, a place they were in for all of the first round.
“I am actually pleased with the patience shown by the boys during that dry spell,” the multi-titled mentor added. “Our hard work is fast paying off and we hope to sustain our form.”
Caguioa slightly injured his left knee in the first half, but instead of rolling over and dying with the tournament’s leading scorer out of commission, the Kings fought harder and brought down the rock-solid Beverage Masters.
Jay-Jay Helterbrand was again a factor on both ends for the Kings, while Chris Alexander was his usual self with 29 rebounds and 20 points as Ginebra improved to 4-7 and 4-2 ever since Alexander replaced Ernest Brown.
Magnolia, which won their first meeting, 92-85, dropped to a share of seventh spot at 5-6, just a notch up on the Kings while slowly kissing its aspirations of making the semifinals outright goodbye.
Tournament format calls for the top two teams to make the Final Four automatically, and the way the Beverage Masters are playing makes it seem that going there directly is such a far-fetched idea, even with the all-star lineup that they have.
Caguioa, who came into the game averaging close to 26 points a contest, was held to just six points, his lowest output since January. He was actually cleared by team physicians to return, but Uichico opted not to take the risk.
“ This is just one game and I deemed it best to have his injury examined more rather than play him and aggravate the injury,” said Uichico.
Helterbrand scored 23 points and Junthy Valenzuela had 13 for the Kings, whose defense held the Beverage Masters to their lowest output of the year.
Magnolia, which scored just 35 points in the final two periods, also lost Dondon Hontiveros to an ankle sprain in the first half.
Import Jameel Watkins paced the Beverage Masters with 22 points with Marc Pingris shooting 17. But what also aided Magnolia’s fall was the effective defense played by the Kings on Danny Seigle, who was held down to just five markers.
In the first game, Air21 added to Red Bull’s woes with Egay Billones, a third-string guard, shooting a career-high 23 points on near-flawless shooting from the field to lead the Express to a 119-109 win over Red Bull.
Billones, who has jumped around several teams in a seven-year career, hit 8-of-9 shots from the field, his only miss coming from the three-point region, where he made five, in only 19 minutes coming off the bench.
“There was no other hero tonight but Egay,” said Air21 coach Bo Perasol. “But this is actually one game which offense won for us, and Egay was at the forefront of it all.”
Billones scored 17 of his total in the fourth period and made the Air21 win possible, as the Express built a 13-point lead early and had to hold off the dogged Barako at the crunch before rising to 7-5 and tying their victims in second place. That has left Coca-Cola alone at the top with a 7-4 card.
A total of six players scored in twin digits for Perasol, with the comebacking Gary David shooting 20 and import Steven Thomas contributing 17.
Red Bull, which lost for the third straight time, was led by Adam Parada’s 28 points and 12 rebounds and Cyrus Baguio’s 18 markers.
But the lack of a formidable rotation has apparently shown its signs for the Barako, who dealt away three reliable players in the off-season for a song to Magnolia.
