MANILA: A sign of life from a team considered to be dead.
Red Bull dug deep within its resolve last night and brought down Philippine Cup leader Alaska 100-80 for a win that hardly mattered in the standings but one which coach Yeng Guiao said could give them what they ultimately want.
“We’re just trying to save some respect, whatever is left, from the basketball-watching public,” the mercurial Guiao said in a hushed tone even after snapping a franchise record eight-game losing streak. “We’re not totally giving up in this conference.
“But it’s a difficult task (advancing to the playoffs),” the newly-appointed national mentor said. “Kapos talaga. Manipis talaga kami. Admittedly, our morale is down, I guess this win will lift it up, I hope, to a level where we can get back our bearings.”
Guiao got his underrated crew to play above par, so to speak, with rookie Jeff Chan hitting 5-of-10 three-pointers to score a career-high 23 points and lead the Barako to notching their fourth win in 15 games, still a full game out of ninth place.
Still, even a sweep of its remaining three games would not guarantee that Red Bull will not hit the showers after the elimination round, its 4-11 record still a full game behind idle Coca-Cola, which is in ninth spot.
Tournament format calls for the top two teams to earn Final Four berths outright, with the next three to be seeded automatically into the quarterfinals and the Nos. 8 to 9 teams dropping to the one-miss-you-die wildcard phase.
But for the first time in close to two months, Red Bull was able to play solid for a full four quarters, with Chan at the firing end by hitting 10 of his total in the final frame which sealed the hot Red Bull finish.
And Guiao smiled when he talked about it, even joking around with reporters by saying that he had looked for a tournament in the internet where basketball is being played for just three periods.
Alaska playing so bad also helped the Barako, with Willie Miller’s 13 points proving to be a team high already. The others in the rosters, those who have been very reliable in the past for Tim Cone, also did not deliver.
The Aces still kept the lead despite the loss, just their fifth in 15 games, derailing their march into the semifinals. The magic number at this point is 12 wins, and the Aces have three more chances to nail two victories before the elimination round ends on Christmas Day.
Talk ‘N Text, meanwhile, won out in a slugfest with Rain or Shine in the second game to post a 92-83 victory and claim a share of second spot with idle powerhouse San Miguel at 9-6.
Alaska still had a chance up until the halfway point in the fourth period, tugging at the coattails of the Barako until Mike Hrabak hit a three-pointer with the shotclock winding down for 84-70.
Chan, a 6-foot-4 off-guard out of Far Eastern University who was the sixth selection in the Draft, spiced up his career game by hitting his fourth triple with 2:53 left that practically sealed the deal before burying another with 1:52 left for 94-75.
Meanwhile, defending champion Sta. Lucia tries to snap out of a two-game losing streak and put itself back into outright playoff spot contention when the Realtors battle Purefoods at the Ynares Arena in Pasig tonight. Game time is 6 p.m. This game is critical to both teams with identical 7-8 cards.
