MANILA, 1 May 2008 — There’s no doubt that Cyrus Baguio is the newest Philippine Basketball Association superstar.
The high-flying swingman bailed Red Bull out yet again last night, shooting the baskets that hurt Coca-Cola in an 82-75 victory that gave Barako the solo lead in the eliminations of the season-ending tournament at the Araneta Coliseum.
Left to fill the scoring void after Junthy Valenzuela was traded to Barangay Ginebra for a song before the tournament, Baguio has continued to respond. And last night was no different, as he scored despite heavy pressure to give Red Bull a fifth win in six games.
None of Baguio’s baskets was bigger than the layup he nailed off a double team in the final 23 seconds, as Red Bull wrapped up the contest and sealed the Tigers’ second loss in seven games with a 79-75 lead.
“Cyrus continues to save the day for us. He is blossoming into one of the best players in the league right now,” said Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao after getting 25 points and two steals in 30 minutes from his 6-foot-1 swingman.
What made the Barako victory even more impressive was the fact that it came with import Adam Parada out of the game with a little under five minutes left because of fouls.
But instead of rolling over and dying, the Barako summoned new life and fought the much-favored Tigers toe-to-toe, with Celino Cruz hitting a desperation three-pointer that beat the shotclock with over a minute to play for 77-75.
Jason Dixon led the Tigers with 23 points, but second import George Gervin Jr. was held down to a harmless nine and Asi Taulava to a field goal in 21 minutes.
Welcoat won consecutive games for only the second time in franchise history earlier, bringing down Magnolia, 108-101, in a repeat of the feat the Dragons achieved close to six months ago.
The Dragons have been winless since November, or after they chopped down powerhouse Magnolia, 95-93 for the first winning streak of “ two games” in franchise history, before losing their next 15 outings.
But the victory last night was with more authority, especially after Marquis Gainous scored 32 points and four others tossed in with 12 or more in a balanced scoring attack that got to Magnolia in the end.
“I thought it would be a long time against before we could get a win,” Welcoat coach Caloy Garcia said, referring to the long drought which made the team finish in the bottom of the Philippine Cup before occupying the cellar of this tournament after four straight losses.
“We were sluggish in the last two days of practice,” Garcia explained. “But our mindset has been to treat every game like a championship game. Nobody believed that we could win (again). We have surprised a lot (of teams with this win).”
Corey Santee contributed 23 points and had a team-high seven assists, efficiently orchestrating the Welcoat offense as the Dragons lost an 11-point first half lead before erasing a nine-point third quarter deficit to prevail.
Rookie Joe Devance was also key, scoring nine of his 15 points in the final quarter, including five straight in a 10-4 spurt to open up the fourth period which shoved the Dragons to an 84-80 lead.
Danny Ildefonso scored eight of his 10 points in a five-minute span in the middle of the fourth, which knotted the count for the last time at 86 before Gainous scored all but two in a telling 9-0 burst that put Welcoat ahead to stay, 95-86, 2:47 left.
“We were able to make some stops and then some shots in the second half,” the left-handed Gainous said. “We have started jelling together as a team and we really feel confident in ourselves.”
Jameel Watkins led the Beverage Masters with 26 points, 13 of them in the first quarter, and 17 rebounds, and Lordy Tugade added 24, including 18 in the third period when Magnolia easily overhauled a seven-point halftime deficit to lead, 60-51.
