Red Bull recovers, downs Magnolia in third place match

MANILA, Philippines – Red Bull may have been outplayed in the semifinals, but it still has a lot of pride to get the best possible finish it can achieve in the Smart-Philippine Basketball Association Fiesta Conference. Getting career-high outputs from import Adam Parada and Leo Najorda, the Bulls outlasted a Magnolia team that decided to limit Amal McCaskill’s playing time, 102-90, to capture third place honors Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum. Parada scored 33 points on 12-of-19 shooting and pulled down 11 rebounds, and Najorda came off the bench to scatter 22 – 12 coming from three-point territory – as Red Bull clinched a third straight second runner-up finish and its fourth overall since entering the PBA in 2000. “This is our best consolation after a shutout series against Ginebra," said Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao. “The least we can do is win third place and be consistent with our finish." Cyrus Baguio added 15 points and only Mike Hrabak didn’t score among the players fielded as the Bulls once more proved that a team without any real big names could still end up strong. Ken Bono unexpectedly led Magnolia with career-bests of 15 points and 11 rebounds, and four other Beverage Masters poured in double-digit numbers. Mike Cortez had 13 points, Lordy Tugade and Danny Seigle each added 12 and Jonas Villanueva scored 10. – GMANews.TV