MANILA: Maybe a weak but complete team is better than one that is loaded with power but does not have all hands on deck.
Red Bull, which coach Yeng Guiao said was made up of loose change, finally broke through after four tries in the Philippine Cup last night, bringing crowd-darling Barangay Ginebra crashing back to earth with a 100-94 victory at the Araneta Coliseum.
“Finally, nakatikim din ng panalo ang team na barya-barya at uhugin,” coach Yeng Guiao said in jest, moments after his Barako dealt the Gin Kings their first loss in three outings. “Seriously speaking, we’re still learning,” Guiao, who has been appointed national coach recently, added.
Trying to make do with a lineup that was, again, decimated by one-sided trades in the off-season, the Barako broke out of the gates hard and kept control the entire night even when the Kings tried to mount rallies one after the other.
Ginebra played without injured superstar Mark Caguioa and reliable big men Rafi Reavis and Billy Mamaril. Still, the lineup that the Kings had — at least for last night’s game — proved far superior on paper to what Guiao had at his disposal. In fact, the Kings came into the game trying to extend a two-game skein after posting convincing victories over defending champion Sta. Lucia and the athletic Air21 Express. “It was the best time for us to beat Ginebra because they were not complete tonight,” Guiao said.
Gabby Espinas, the former NCAA Rookie-MVP who seems to have finally found a home at Red Bull after warming the bench for two other teams the last two seasons, finished with 18 points as Red Bull tied the Express, Purefoods and Coca-Cola. It was also Red Bull’s first win since winning the battle for the crumbs against Magnolia in the last Fiesta Cup, and the Barako’s first over the Kings after being blown off the court in the semifinals of the same tournament.
There were only three lead changes in the first period, and after that, it was Red Bull all the way after the Barako had taken a 30-22 lead into the second quarter.
Cyrus Baguio, Carlo Sharma, Rich Alvarez and journeyman point guard Paolo Hubalde all finished in twin digits for Guiao even as Jay-Jay Helterbrand wound up with 24 points to pace the Kings. The Red Bull victory partially took some of the attention away from a brilliant endgame that Willie Miller had earlier in leading Alaska to a 91-84 victory over Rain or Shine that kept the Aces untouched. Miller scored seven straight points in the most critical times of the fourth period as the Aces won for the fourth straight time while slapping a second consecutive setback on the Elasto Painters. “Without a doubt, we have the best closer in the league,” coach Tim Cone said of his prized point guard with whom he had an ugly confrontation with early in the game after the former two-time MVP made a bad decision in one fastbreak play. Closing out foes is what Miller does best as he scored those seven straight points in an 80-second span that broke a 78-all tie and had the Aces scooting home scot-free from there. Miller also finished with 10 rebounds and Alaska ‘s defense also held super rookie Gabe Norwood to the minimum with just 12 points. Jay-R Reyes and Rob Wainwright led Rain or Shine with 16 and 14 points, respectively.
