Red Bull keeps wildcard hopes alive

12 Dec 2008

Carlo Sharma cored 22 points and grabbed 7 rebounds, leading six other players in double figures, as the Red Bull Barakos kept its wildcard hopes alive with a 98-88 win over the Air21 Express in the 2008-2009 KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

Red Bull never trailed after the Express scored the first three points of the game on a Gary David three-pointer as Red Bull remained just a game behind Coca-Cola for ninth place and last wildcard slot.

"Mukhang manipis pa rin ang chance namin but it'd been a long, long time since we had a streak and we want to savor this. There's no substitute for the feeling of winning, kahit kulelat ka," said Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao.

"Buhay pa ang tsansa and we'll stay fighting as hard as we can. We're not beating pushover teams. We're beating tough teams," said Guiao after their back-to-back wins over Alaska Milk and Air21.

"I think the maturity of our young players is getting better. Tumatagal na kami ng four quarters, dati three quarters lang," said Guiao.

The loss dropped the Express to an even 8-8 record, tied for fifth with defending champion Sta. Lucia.

Cyrus Baguio had 15 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals, Larry Rodriguez 14 points and 9 boards, Jojo Duncil 13 points, Paolo Hubalde 11 points and Gabby Espinas and Jeffrei Chan with 10 points and 5 rebounds aoiece for Red Bull, which has won two straight following eight straight loss.

Ranidel de Ocampo led Air21 with 21 points, 9 rebounds and 6 assists, Gary David added 17 points, JC Intal 13 points and 6 rebounds, Arwind Santos 13 points and 9 boards and Nino Canaleta 11 points and 10 boards.

Scores:

Red Bull 98 - Sharma 22, Baguio 15, Rodriguez 14, Duncil 13, Hubalde 11, Chan 10, Espinas 10, Najorda 2, Cruz 1, Ybanez 0, Hrabak 0.

Air21 88 - De Ocampo 21, David 17, Intal 13, Santos 13, Canaleta 11, Arboleda 5, Kramer 2, Cruz 2, Billones 2, Se 2, Quinahan 0, Sta. Maria 0.

Quarterscores: 30-26, 54-46, 72-67, 98-88

RED BULL KEEPS PLAYOFF HOPES ALIVE

7 Barakos in double figures

Friday, 12 December 2008

Red Bull is rallying in the homestretch. Carlo Sharma put in a career-high 22 points with six other Barakos adding at least 10 each as they stayed within striking distance of the Coca-Cola Tigers in their battle for the last slot in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup wildcard round with a 98-88 win over the Air21 Express Friday at the Araneta Coliseum. Coca-Cola clobbered San Miguel Beer, 105-91, earlier in the day but the Barakos kept the Tigers within sight on their first successive wins in a long while that jacked up their record to 5-11.

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