Minus one key player in Carlo Sharma, Red Bull still kept its mastery of Magnolia at the start of their 2007-08 Smart PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinal showdown.
Cyrus Baguio scored a career-high 31 points while Mike Hrabak and Mick Pennisi nailed decisive three-pointers at endgame as the Barakos upended the Beverage Masters, 107-104, Wednesday to move in the threshold of the Final Four.
"We missed Carlo (Sharma) a lot because Magnolia is really big. But we didn’t give up and played with a bigger heart," said Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao.
"We still got their number. We’re now 3-0 against them in this tournament but it won’t matter if we don’t win this series," Guiao added. "Winning Game One gives you 60 percent of winning this series. It’s not yet over but our battlecry the next game is to finish it."
The Barakos take their first crack at closing the series in Game Two Friday in the same venue at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay.
Baguio ran a spectacular show, coming through with several highlight moves on the way to improving his previous career-high of 30 points.
The former UST Tiger went 11-of-13 from the field and 8-of-9 from the stripe while also coming through with six assists, five rebounds and one steal in a sterling 35 minutes of awesome action.
But the Barakos needed Hrabak’s and Pennisi’s treys to build a 104-98 cushion entering the final minute of the fiercely fought battle.
Hrabak finished with 21 points – his biggest output in the league in the last four years. Pennisi contributed 11 points and nine rebounds while playing extended minutes sans Sharma who served a one-game suspension for his fight with Jondan Salvador in the Purefoods-Red Bull setto closing out the double-round elims.
Junthy Valenzuela and Leo Najorda also put in double-figure outputs as the Barakos engaged the Beverage Masters in a virtual shootout.
It helped that Red Bull shot 50 percent from the field against Magnolia’s 44.4-percent clip.
Wesley Gonzales was perfect from the field (5-of-5) in the first half but failed to score again.
Danny Seigle and Lordy Tugade carried the bulk of the fight for Magnolia in the second half with the latter hitting back-to-back three-pointers that shoved the team within two at 104-106 with time down to 6.4 seconds.
Baguio gave Red Bull more breathing room with a free throw before Magnolia eventually saw its bid vanish in the air with Chris Calaguio missing a desperation three-pointer at the buzzer.
Seigle fired 25 points to pace the Beverage Masters, who also drew 10 points or more from Tugade, Dorian Pena, Danny Ildefonso, Gonzales and Enrico Villanueva. (NC)
The scores:
Red Bull 107 – Baguio 31, Hrabak 21, Valenzuela 18, Najorda 13, Pennisi 11, Adriano 5, Bugia 3, Robinson 3, Ybanez 1, Cruz 1.
Magnolia 104 – Seigle 25, Tugade 15, Pena 15, Ildefonso 13, Gonzales 10, Villanueva E. 10, Hontiveros 8, Villanueva J. 5, Tenorio 3, Wilson 0, Racela 0, Calaguio 0.
Quarterscores: 22-20, 45-47, 77-78, 107-104.
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Willie Miller and Mike Cortez certainly know when to strike. And when the right moment came, Alaska's veteran backcourt duo delivered the knockout punch.
In a game that featured tough defense from both sides, the Aces summoned their playoff experience in the second half to subdue the weary Coca-Cola Tigers, 89-82, in Game 1 of their best-of-three quarterfinal series at the Cuneta Astrodome.
"It was a tough game to get rid of. It was a defensive battle out there. It was hard to get open shots and good looks at the baskets for either team. But it kind of went the way we had hoped it would," said Alaska coach Tim Cone, who did a terrific job in shuffling his bench.
The Aces, who were coming off a 12-day rest against the Tigers who were playing their fourth game in eight days, seized control late in the third quarter largely on the splendid playmaking and decisiveness of Cortez, who finished with 11 points, three assists and one steal. He capped his third quarter effort by scoring five big points during a telling 9-1 run as Alaska ended the period with a 69-64 lead and never relinquished it the rest of the way.
But the ninth-seeded Tigers, who were extremely confident following their unexpected domination in the wildcard, didn't give in and the Aces went to Miller for the finishing touches.
The two-time MVP finished with a game high 23 points, including a lay-up and three-pointer in the final 1:34 that broke the spines of the Tigers. The Olongapo City-born Miller also had seven assists and two steals for the Aces, who outscored Coca-Cola, 48-34, in the second half.
Alaska can advance to the best-of-seven semifinals of the 2007-08 Smart PBA-Philippine Cup against No. 2-ranked Sta. Lucia with another victory in Game 2 scheduled at 7:20 p.m. on Friday also at the Cuneta Astrodome.
"We knew we had to battle them early on. And by the fourth quarter they (Tigers) started wearing down. So we just kept pushing and pushing at them hoping the tide would turn to our favor. Eventually it did. Asi (Taulava) started to cramp, Mark (Telan) got tired and they just lost their bounce bit," Cone observed.
Alaska's fourth consecutive win snapped Coca-Cola's improbable run to the playoffs and spoiled another incredible effort by Taulava.
The 6-foot-9 center tallied 22 points and cornered 25 rebounds for his 15th double-double and second 20-20 game of the conference
But the toil of playing 41 minutes took its toll on Coke's Big Fellow, who experience leg cramps in the final 2:07 with the Tigers down 81-85.
The failure of his teammates to step up and provide him support also played a role in Coca-Cola's downfall.
Telan, the other half of Coke's mean machine, managed just 13 points and showed signs of fatigue in the fourth quarter where he went scoreless, his energy visibly zapped. Ricky Calimag scored 12 but only had four in the second half. No other Tiger manage to score in double digits.
"We might have won Game 1 but this series is certainly no slam dunk for us. Coke is so good and dangerous when their backs are against the wall. So we got to be ready on Friday," said Cone whose team has now won four in a row dating back to the eliminations.
Coke’s winning streak appeared to continue when they posted a 40-31 lead midway in the second quarter.
And although the Aces managed to tie the score twice in the third quarter, the Tigers would come up with big baskets to regain the lead.
But they would eventually run out of gas late in the third as the well-rested Aces kept pushing the ball on every possession and contested every Tigers' shot.
Alaska also got big contributions from Reynel Hugnatan (17 points, 10 rebounds), John Ferriols (11 points, eight rebounds), Jeffrey Cariaso (10 points) and Sonny Thoss (11 rebounds).
Coca-Cola, which ended a three-game winning streak, shot just 32% from the field in the second half and had 14 turnovers compared to a 43% shooting in the first half and only 10 turnovers.
The scores:
Alaska 89 -- Miller 23, Hugnatan 17, Ferriols 11, Cortez 11, Cariaso 10, Thoss 8, Dela Cruz 7, Quinahan 2, Bono 0, Aban 0, Cabatu 0.
Coca-Cola 82 -- Taulava 22, Telan 13, Calimag 12, Cabagnot 9, Tolomia 6, Buenafe 5, Dimaunahan 5, Arigo 4, Enrile 2, Isip 2, Misolas 2.
Quarterscores: 21-21; 41-48; 69-64; 89-82.From pba.com
posted by: Guian Yeo
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