MANILA, 20 February 2006 — No franchise player? No problem.
Red Bull closed out its PBA Fiesta Conference title series with Purefoods at 4-2 last night after the Barako came together during the most crucial moments to take an 83-73 victory for the franchise’s first title in four years and third since 2000.
Not bad for a team that saw its cornerstone declared ineligible at the start of the year and for one which played with a bunch of youngsters that completed one of the most inspiring championship runs in league history.
“I’m just so happy. We made it through hardship and tough adversity,” said coach Yeng Guiao, whose Fil-Am center and franchise player, Davonn Harp, was ruled a sham by the league. “The best in our opponents brought out the best in us.
“I am just so proud of this team. We went through a lot.”
Its roster lacking the big names so many other squads in the league have an abundance of, Red Bull made do with a young crew, its character standing out last night after the Barako came charging back from 15 points down in the second period to win.
Cyrus Baguio came off the bench to energize the Barako late in the first period, finishing with 13 points like Mick Pennisi as both wound up as heroes of the eventful sixth game watched by a virtual sea of humanity at the Araneta Coliseum.
Baguio, the high-leaping 6-foot-1 guard out of collegiate power Santo Tomas, scored a string of baskets in the second quarter to fuel the Barako’s fightback from a 15 points down.
His heroics put Red Bull back in the game quick and Pennisi, born to an Italian father, nailed two crucial three-point bombs in the fourth quarter that kept the Barako’s collective heads above water.
Purefoods was shackled no end by the pestering full court press of Red Bull, going scoreless in the last 1:33.
The Chunkee Giants were doomed completely when James Yap missed an open fastbreak layup with 30 seconds left and ignited a wild celebration from a throng of Red Bull fans that trooped to the Big Dome expecting something special.
That muffed attempt by Yap gave Red Bull back possession and what was a shaky 77-73 lead suddenly looked enough to hold the rest of the way.
It was the third championship for the Photokina franchise since being accepted as an expansion team six seasons ago. All of those victories have been on import-laced tournaments and all of Guiao’s five titles, counting two with disbanded Swift, incidentally, were also with imports.
And this one came after a move that raised a lot of eyebrows from the Red Bull faithful after Guiao had let go of high-scoring Quemont Greer going into the playoffs in favor of a silent yet effective James Penny.
“It took a big gamble on our part to replace an explosive scorer like Q (Quemont),” Guiao said.
“We took in Penny to make the other guys in the lineup play better and he did the job quite well.”
Penny paced the Barako with 21 points, while Marquin Chandler, adjudged the tournament’s Best Import, led all Purefoods shooters with 24.
Lordy Tugade scattered 11 points and pulled down five rebounds for Guiao. The former standout for National University in the UAAP later went on to be voted as the Finals Most Valuable Player.
Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio was not bitter in defeat.
“Making the finals is an achievement in itself,” Gregorio said. “My boys played well, even though we came up short. Still, second place is not at all bad.”
Gregorio started veteran center Jun Limpot for the first time in the tournament, and it almost paid off after the Giants zoomed ahead early and closed out the first period with a 24-11 lead.
But Baguio’s entrance into the game spelled the difference, as the Barako ran the Giants to the ground with a fluid offense as Red Bull gained complete control with a 63-57 lead after three quarters.
