MANILA, 29 June 2004 — Red Bull Barako’s and Barangay Ginebra’s fighting spirits are back, and the Thunder and the Kings are back in PBA finals.
Red Bull and Ginebra are figuring in a title showdown which could be one for the books as they defeated the Coca-Cola Tigers and the Talk n Text Phone Pals in their respective knockout matches in the Gran Matador PBA Fiesta Conference Final Four before a packed crowd at the Araneta Coliseum Sunday night.
Jimwell Torion provided the biggest blows as Red Bull Barako outsteadied Coca-Cola, 101-91.
Ginebra beat Talk N’ Text, 111-103, with Jayjay Helterbrand scoring 22 points and Mark Caguioa adding 17 for Ginebra.
Torion scored 22 lethal points -18 coming from three-point land-to supply the needed firepower for the Barakos in the sudden-death game when the Tigers threatened to seize full control.
The win followed Red Bull’s cruising 95-88 win in the best-of-three series last Friday and pushed the Barakos to their third finals in a relatively young league existence.
The loss foiled Coca-Cola’s bid to make the finals for a fifth straight time.
Torion was at his best during a decisive run midway through the final period when he drained two three-point shots in the game-deciding 13-0 run that settled the outcome of the contest after Red Bull temporarily yielded the upper hand.
The Barakos were trailing 84-86 when Torion dropped the first trey, sparking the assault which also saw Mick Pennisi contributing big-time in the surge with his own triple.
By the time the charge was over, Red Bull had a 97-86 with just 2:42 left in the game.
Victor Thomas led Red Bull with 24 points on top of 12 rebounds, three assists and two steals, with four other Barakos contributing double-digit outputs.
Red Bull survived a spectacular performance from Coca-Cola’s Mark Sanford, who had 44 points. Coca-Cola’s one-man scoring machine was no match for the firepower Red Bull possessed in the endgame as defense and offense connived magnificently for the Barakos when it mattered most. The Barakos lost a 51-37 lead at the half when the Tigers, starring Sanford, poured in 28 markers in the quarter to Red Bull’s 11. That gave Coca-Cola a 70-69 lead entering the final period, and a down-the-wire battle was on.
