MANILA, 23 January 2006 — Sister teams Purefoods and Barangay Ginebra can tell different tales as far as the performances of their imports went at the start of the Philippine Basketball Association Fiesta Conference semifinals.
The important thing, though, is that both squads got the job done against their respective opponents last night.
Marquin Chandler pulverized a battle-weary Air21 side with 46 points and 16 rebounds as the Chunkee Giants opened up their best-of-seven series with the Express with a 94-89 decision at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Gin Kings, on the other hand, got minimal production from Chris Porter because of foul trouble but still went on to subdue stubborn Red Bull, 105-100, in extra time later in the night.
Chandler was hitting shots from all angles, including a floater in the waning seconds which proved to be the dagger to the heart of Air21, which still fought with a lot of spunk despite playing their third game in as many days.
“He (Chandler) played his best offensive game thus far,” Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio said. “But we cannot just rely on him (for the rest of the series). I’m sure Air21 will make adjustments in Game 2.”
Those 46 points were the best by anyone in the tournament thus far which Porter didn’t even come close to matching after contributing only eight points and 10 rebounds before fouling out early in the fourth quarter.
But his exit hardly affected Ginebra’s psyche and performance, as the Kings held on and beat the Barako with near-impeccable shooting from the stripe in extension to draw first blood in their series.
“We just did not execute in overtime,” losing coach Yeng Guiao of Red Bull said. “We had our chances but we just didn’t make the most out of them. It’s a lesson for us for the rest of the series.”
Center Enrico Villanueva forged extension with a putback of a James Penny miss at the buzzer for 89-all, and it looked like the Barako had momentum on their side in the next five minutes before things — especially their shooting — turned sour.
Red Bull threw away possessions one after the other and was actually not able to score until the final 2:08 when Lordy Tugade, the Barako’s most prolific local in the tournament, split his charities off a Mark Caguioa foul.
While the Barako were throwing bricks, Ginebra would go on to convert on all but four of 20 free throws awarded them in extension, a remarkable feat considering that the Kings did not make a single field goal in that stretch.
Rodney Santos made 7-of-8 attempts, Jayjay Helterbrand nailed 4-of-6 and three others, including Eric Menk, combined to make all but one of the other six tries from the stripe for the Kings, who have won their fourth straight game dating back to the last stages of the classification round.
Red Bull, which like Air21 will try to knot the series on Wednesday, lost for the first time in four games, its last three victories coming when the Barako swept Alaska in the quarterfinals.
Penny still went on to lead the Barako with 35 points and 17 rebounds, while Menk, who earned Player of the Game honors, scattered 25 markers and eight boards.
In the Purefoods-Air21 game, Ren-Ren Ritualo was finally held down to a minimum by a foe for the first time in weeks, scoring 10 of his 14 points for the Express from the free throw line.
Roger Yap scored 14 points and Kerby Raymundo chipped in with 10 to back Chandler up. Gary David, who got into a scuffle with the Purefoods import near the end of the third period, paced the Express with 18 points with Shawn Daniels accounting for 15 more and 17 rebounds.
David and Chandler got tangled up in the baseline near Purefoods’ side of the court and play was halted for close to five minutes. A spate of technical fouls were called and both players are expected to be reprimanded by the Commissioner’s Office.
