MANILA, 20 October 2007 — Barangay Ginebra also wants to be heard.
The defending champion Gin Kings, also not listed high in the team-to-beat list, showed the stuff they have in the young Philippine Cup by totally outclassing Red Bull, 102-95, last night before a huge Cuneta Astrodome crowd.
Ginebra opened up the second period with a 13-0 run to break open what was a close opening quarter, and the Kings served notice of how capable they are of repeating by holding fort even after almost losing a 20-point lead.
And they pulled this one out of the fire without Mark Caguioa and Rudy Hatfield.
Caguioa sat out his team’s debut because of an injured shoulder sustained during his stint with the RP Team, while Hatfield is practically retired after informing team management that he would stay in the United States . Team insiders said that Hatfield needs to stay in the US so that his wife, the former Brittany Herr, will have a strong chance of winning her child custody case against her first husband.
And the Kings showed none of the effects of not having Caguioa and Hatfield, getting the production they needed from almost everyone in whipping what looks like a formidable Red Bull team.
“We don’t mind that (not being rated highly),” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico. “It might be better for us in the long run because we can play with a lot less pressure compared to the others who need to really deliver.” Mark Macapagal, despite missing eight of nine three-point attempts, hit 13 points in a crucial four-minute span in the fourth period as Ginebra survived a Red Bull rally. Macapagal went on to finish with 21 points built on 12-of-13 free throw shooting to earn Player of the Game honors.
Cyrus Baguio had 26 points and Junthy Valenzuela 17 for the Barako, who lost Lordy Tugade, Enrico Villanueva and Larry Fonacier to lopsided trades last year No. 1 Draft pick Joe Devance showed up with a sprained right ankle in his professional debut earlier and could not help Welcoat open up with a loss after blowing a huge lead, 76-85, to Coca-Cola.
The Dragons, last season’s whipping boys, blew a 19-point lead in the second period after failing to sustain a fiery start.
And Devance, the 6-foot-7 Fil-American seen to be the man who will change Welcoat’s fortunes this year, could only do so little in the very paltry time he was put into action because of his injury.
He scored a three-point basket with 4:23 left in the second period that gave Welcoat a 39-22 lead, and new acquisition Nic Belasco made this 41-22 after an undergoal stab that made it look like the Dragons were headed for a stroll. But John Arigo, Mark Telan and rookie Ronjay Buenafe slowly rallied the Tigers, who crept to within striking distance before quarter’s end.
Coca-Cola took the lead to stay at 46-36 with 9:11 left in the third period after a Telan triple, and the youth in the Dragons did not help them get back on their feet the rest of the way. Devance saw action for just four minutes, also had one assist and was clearly in no shape to play for more as the Dragons hope for his speedy recovery so they can size themselves up to the competition and have no excuses. “Definitely, Joe not being 100% hurt us,” Welcoat coach Leo Austria told Arab News. “I just thought that he needed to play tonight so that he could be broken into the league slowly.” There was also one vital player missing for Coca-Cola, Alex Cabagnot, the Tigers’ starting point guard whom coach Binky Favis elected to rest also because of a right ankle sprain.
“His health is our primary concern,” Favis said. “Not that we did not see the need for him to play tonight, but making him play might result in a long-term repercussion and we just cannot take that chance.”
