PBA action: Purefoods survives Red Bull scare
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 11/15/2008 1:57 AM
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As always, Purefoods Tender Juicy encountered some trouble before silencing the stubborn Red Bull squad.
The Giants blew an 11-point lead midway in the fourth period but recovered just in time as they hacked out an 80-72 escape over the Barakos Friday night in the 2008-09 KFC-PBA Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
James Yap and Kerby Raymundo came through with clutch baskets when Purefoods made a run in the last three minutes of the game to lift their team to its fifth win against the same number of losses.
Yap finished with a game-high 28 points and added six rebounds to his performance while Raymundo contributed14 markers in his return after being downed by amoebiasis and dehydration in the last game.
"James and Kerby have been the back bone of this team for the past couple of years, and up to now, they remain to be the source of strength for this team," said head coach Ryan Gregorio.
"Clearly, they delivered when things didn't look good," he added.
Enrico Villanueva also chipped in 14 points eight boards for the Giants.
Purefoods also won in their first meeting, 77-73, and it appeared that the wards of Gregorio had a picnic this time after erecting a 66-55 lead after Rich Alvarez completed a three-point play off Cyrus Baguio with 7:38 left in the game.
But Gabby Espinas anchored a searing 13-0 run by the Barakos to grab the lead for the first time at 68-66 with 4:14 remaining.
Raymundo ended Purefoods' scoring drought with a difficult fade-away jumper at the baseline to beat the buzzer and tied the game for the last time at 68-all, 3:10 left in the game clock.
Espinas quicky put the lead back to Red Bull with a drive, 70-68, but the Barakos allowed the Giants to come back in the game with a string of turnovers.
And then, Yap connected a three-pointer that started a telling 8-0 surge by the Giants capped by Raymundo's one triple to take the game for good, 76-70, 1:20 left in the game.
Espinas scored a conference-high 21 points go along with his nine rebounds for Red Bull, which absorbed its third straight loss to drop to 3-6 and join Barangay Ginebra and Coca-Cola at the cellar.
Barakos rookie Larry Rodriguez added 12 markers, five rebounds and two blocked shots in the match but sat out the last four minutes of the game after hurting his right knee.
Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao returned to the bench after missing the team's previous game due to a personal matter he had to attend to in the United States.
At 5-5, Purefoods is back in track for the outright berth in the next round, but Gregorio knows that they have to work harder in their remaining games.
"Our games will be much tougher from hereon," he said. Our modest goal is to make to the top five and I think it's achievable."
Sta. Lucia: 88, Rain or Shine: 85
In the second game, defending champion Sta. Lucia Realty (SLR) survived Rain or Shine's last gasp and banked on a crucial basket of seldom-used Christian Coronel for an 88-85 escape.
After Elasto Painters rookie Solomon Mercado tied the count at 83-all with 1:03 left, Coronel, who subbed for the ejected Paolo Mendoza, hit a 20-foot floater to beat the buzzer that gave the Realtors an 85-83 cushion, 38 ticks left.
Rain or Shine rookie TY Tang tried to reclaim the lead but his three-pointer at the right corner misfired and Sta. Lucia sealed the win with free throws to improve to 5-4 and hand the Elasto Painters their second-straight loss to drop to 5-5.
Mendoza led Sta. Lucia 16 points while SLR rookie Kelvin Gregorio hit a career-high 13 marker for the Realtors who lost reigning MVP Kelly Williams in the third period due to an eye injury.
Mark Isip led Rain or Shine with 23 points while Mercado chipped in 14. Coach Caloy Garcia was ejected in the third period after incurring two technical fouls.
