MANILA, 21 May 2007 — Yeng Guiao called the shots for just the second game since returning from a successful political fight.
He’s also having success in his PBA fight.
Guiao steered Red Bull to a 105-101 decision of Air21 last night that gave the defending champion Bulls the solo lead in the PBA Fiesta Cup eliminations and closer to the first outright semifinal seat at the Araneta Coliseum.
The mercurial mentor came up with a brilliant ploy at halftime, short of asking his players to not return to the floor anymore if they cannot at least match the intensity level and tough stand of the Express for the final two periods.
His Bulls gave the Express all the intensity and toughness they could muster.
Red Bull seized control in the third period, easily wiping out an eight-point deficit at the half and playing with full control in the fourth to make Guiao 2-0 after his return and give the Bulls an 11-5 card.
More important than the lead, Red Bull moved within a win of a possible playoff for the last automatic semifinal berth, which did not look possible just three weeks ago after Barangay Ginebra went on a rampage and had a three-game lead over its closest pursuer.
James Penny scored 29 points and ripped off 19 boards, and guard Celino Cruz nailed two crucial triples in the fourth period which helped douse cold water on repeated Air21 comebacks.
The Express missed gaining a share of the lead with the loss, their sixth in 15 games, as they dropped into a third place tie with Talk ‘N Text, which has had an amazing run in this tournament that muddled up the standings.
Red Bull was finally able to take the lead in the tournament after Barangay Ginebra suffered a third straight defeat on Saturday night at the hands of the Talk ‘N Text Phone Pals in Butuan City.
Harvey Carey played big, shooting 24 points to lead all Phone Pals shooters.
Talk ‘N Text zoomed to 9-6 with the victory and kept its wafer-thin hopes of making the semifinals outright alive, while the Gin Kings dropped to 10-5 after incurring their first such losing streak this year.
“Things have happened quickly,” Guiao, who won the vice-gubernatorial seat in his native Pampanga, said.
“We really did not expect to be No. 1 at this moment. It’s a blessing and we’ll take it.” All told, there were a total of five players who scored in twin digits for Red Bull, which also won for the second straight time even with cornerstone center Enrico Villanueva fulfilling a national commitment in Tehran, Iran.
Coca-Cola coach Binky Favis rediscovered a vital component on his bench earlier in the person of 1998 MVP Kenneth Duremdes who keyed a 114-95 victory by the Tigers over Sta. Lucia.
Duremdes came off the bench and dropped 23 points, while Alex Cabagnot had 19 and a conference-high 13 feeds that helped the Tigers get back in the groove and improve to 7-9 overall, way out of the race for the top 5 but helpful in the long run just the same.
The 6-foot-3 Duremdes, traded by the Realtors for practically nothing in return just over two months ago, scored 11 of his total in the second period that boosted the Tigers to leads of as many as 16 and a halftime bubble of 63-57.
“This win may not help us get into the top five (of the standings), but what we learned from playing tonight will help a lot come playoff time,’ said Favis, who had used Duremdes sparingly in their last few games which have resulted in more losses than victories. “And tonight we learned how to play together and as a team. If we can play continuously that way in the playoffs, we might have a chance.” Duremdes, who won the MVP trophy while with defunct Swift, hit three triples in the second period alone to keep the Realtors at bay.
And when Sta. Lucia tried to make something happen in the third period and came too close for comfort, Cabagnot responded with a triple of his own that kept the Tigers’ collective heads above water. “Alex will be filling a huge leadership vacuum in this organization,” Favis added. “He has shown a lot of improvement in terms of leadership and I guess his development will be key for us in the playoffs.” The victory was sweet revenge for the Tigers, who acquired Duremdes and Cabagnot from Sta. Lucia in one of the most lopsided trades of recent times just a couple of nights before the two teams collided.
Sta. Lucia won that one, 103-100.
Jeff Varem scattered 22 points and William Antonio contributed 17 for Coca-Cola, which improved to 7-9 with the win and will be playing for a quarterfinal seat in the wildcard phase. Jamaal Williams had 32 points and rookie Kelly Williams 18 for the Realtors.
