Red Bull nips Magnolia, 112-94, to enter PBA semis

The Red Bull Barakos made a quick work of the heavilly-favored Magnolia Beverage Masters, 112-94, to barge into the semifinal round of the 2007-08 Smart-PBA Philippine Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City. Two days after scoring a career-high 31 points, main man Cyrus Baguio had an off night this time with only 10 markers to show, but the other gunners of the Barakos, such as Junthy Valenzuela, were there to pick up the scoring load for the team. Valenzuela eventually finished the game with a team high of 27 points on 9-of-13 shooting, dished nine assists, collared eight rebounds and had two steals to claim the game's MVP honor in the win which eliminated Magnolia from the playoffs picture. Leo Najorda, Celino Cruz, Francis Adriano, and Mick Pennisi also hit almost every kind of shot and finished with 10 points or more apiece. In the defensive and other facets of the game, Carlo Sharma, tiny Warren Ibañez, Mike Hrabak, Paolo Bugia, and Topex Robinson made good accounts of themselves. The win, the fourth straight by the Barakos against the Beverage Masters this conference, was huge as this will set them up with a semifinals meeting against Number 1 seeded Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants. The best-of-seven series will start this coming Sunday (January 27) also at the same Pasay City arena. "It's a good feeling making the semis," Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao said. "With a team that's been depleted during the offseason we've never been really seriously looked at – at least on paper. So I take pride in this team for what we have achieved." It was the third straight semifinal appearance for the Barakos in this centerpiece tournament and sixth straight conference overall. "I don't think that there's any team that had been that consistent with all the many things that had happened to the team. So if it’s just for consistency, six straight semis is a feat in itself," said Guiao, visibly relishing his latest accomplishment. Their fourth victory in as many meetings with Magnolia this conference was a humbling experience for the Barakos, who knocked out a star-studded team that included the Barakos’ former superstars – Rico Villanueva, Lordy Tugade, and Larry Fonacier – who were dealt to Magnolia one after the other last season. "I've always said it's not about big names," Guiao said. "It's not about big salaries. It's about a big heart. Barya-barya lang kami dito, pero nandito kami sa semis." Guiao's 15 years of coaching experience showed heavily against his youthful rival. To be dominated in four games this conference by a Red Bull team which jaded observers previously thought would not stand a chance against a star-powered team like Magnolia will leave a deep scar in the hearts of Beverage Masters' head coach Siot Tanquincen and his troops. Things actually didn't start well for the Barakos Friday night with Baguio picking up three fouls four minutes into the game and had to sit out the rest of the opening quarter. Without their best player, the Barakos struggled a bit offensively and Magnolia cashed in on the break and managed to build a 10-point lead at 14-4 on a basket by Danny Seigle with under five minutes left in the quarter. But the complexion of the game took a dramatic twist in second quarter. In a span of seven minutes, the Barakos hinted the series was about to end by opening the second quarter with a 21-1 blast as the Beverage Masters inexplicably became error-prone and lost their shooting touch. During that stretch, Magnolia missed their first 12 shots and committed five turnovers as Red Bull turned a 23-27 deficit to a 44-28 advantage. The Beverage Masters hit their first field goal with 5:05 remaining on a basket by Seigle but the Barakos quickly responded with a 10-4 run to rip the game wide open, 54-34. Magnolia rallied but never got closer than 68-73 on two free throws by Lordy Tugade in the closing seconds of the third. Tugade led all scorers with 31 points, L.A. Tenorio added 13 points which Seigle matched while adding 15 rebounds for Magnolia, which shot just 39 percent (33-of-83) from the field compared to Red Bull’s 53 percent. As in Game 1, the Barakos were red-hot from rainbow distance, rifling in 11 of their 20 attempts or 55 percent which was better that how they did from the two-point area (53 percent). Red Bull also outscored Magnolia in transition 27-11 and in bench scoring, 73-27. Scores Red Bull (112): Valenzuela 27, Najorda 15, Cruz 14, Adriano 11, Baguio 10, Pennisi 10, Sharma 9, Ybanez 6, Andaya 3, Hrabak 3, Bugia 2, Robinson 2 Magnolia (94): Tugade 31, Tenorio 13, Seigle 13, Hontiveros 10, Villanueva R. 9, Ildefonso 7, Villanueva J. 6, Gonzales 5, Calaguio 0, Pena 0 Quarterscores: 23-27; 55-40; 78-70; 112-94

- GMANews.TV