MANILA, 15 March 2005 — Red Bull Barako coach Yeng Guiao was ejected in the third period after vehemently protesting what he claimed was a non-call.
Instead of collapsing, however, the Barakos held their ground under the command of assistant coach Gee Abanilla and scraped past previously unbeaten San Miguel Beer Sunday night 94-90 in the Gran Matador-PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.
Cyrus Baguio and import Dalron Johnson came up big when Red Bull needed it most, completing big plays down the stretch to power the team to a big rebound from a heartbreaking 104-109 loss to FedEx last Friday.
Baguio scored five of his nine fourth quarter-points in the last 2:27 while Johnson drained four of the team’s last seven free throws as the Barakos made a final decisive charge that got them over the hump and powered them to their second win in three starts.
Rookie point guard Warren Ybanez and center Enrico Villanueva also had one big play each as Red Bull dealt SMB its first loss in three games. Ybanez fought for the loose ball and got a foul from Olsen Racela after the latter had missed a three-point try that would have tied it at 93.
Although Ybanez missed both charity tries, Villanueva managed to snare the offensive rebound and sank the charity that iced the game in the final 3.2 seconds.
Guiao, thrown out with 5:10 left in the third period after being slapped two technical fouls and his team ahead at 60-56, later said,
tongue-in-cheek: “Most of the times na na-eject ako, panalo kami. Kaya nga talagang nagpa-eject ako ngayon, para manalo kami.”
San Miguel took time to take advantage of Guiao’s ejection.
The Beermen finally tied the score at 74 on a Dondon Hontiveros trey with 10:17 left.
San Miguel Import Chris Burgess, who led the way for all scorers and rebounders with 34 and 25, respectively, scored four points in a 6-0 run that gave the Beermen the lead for the last time at 88-87, 57 ticks left.
Red Bull, looking for a birthday present for playmaker Jimwell Torion who turned 30 Saturday, seemed well on the way to victory when it opened up the second period with an 11-2 run for a 36-25 lead.
Relievers Ryan Bernardo and Nelson Asaytono scored four points each in that surge capped by a fallaway jumper by Asaytono with 9:49 to go.
But the Beermen, coming off back-to-back wins over Alaska and Coca-Cola, refused to crumble and used two mini-runs to keep the score tight. Dorian Pena scored back-to-back baskets to finish a 6-0 run as Beermen made it 31-36, before Burgess’ two charities crowned a 7-0 rush and made it 39-42.
With third-string point-guard Warren Ybanez providing some poise, the Barakos got off a 7-1 run, capped by Ybanez’s buzzer-beating triple, ending the quarter to go into the half with an eight-point spread.
The first period was a lot closer as the two teams battled through three deadlocks and six lead changes, with Red Bull’s Bryan Gahol, a former SMB forward who was traded for Denver Lopez just before the tournament, giving a good account of himself as a starter.
Meanwhile, Talk n Text stayed unscathed in two games, blasting Sta. Lucia Realty, 97-75, in a follow-up on its 97-88 demolition of Shell in Jakarta, Indonesia last week.
The scores:
RED BULL 94 -- Johnson 17, Baguio 13, Villanueva 12, Meneses 11, Ybanez 6, Robinson 6, Asayton 6, Valenzuela 5, Gahol 5, Bernardo 4, Tugade 4, Ejercito 3, Torion 2.
SAN MIGUEL 90 -- Burgess 34, Seigle 21, Racela 13, Pena 8, Belasco 6, Villoria 3, Hontiveros 3, Mente 2.
Quarters: 25-23, 49-41, 71-67, 94-90.
