Caguioa nets 30th career 30-plus game to lead Kings
How sweep it is for Barangay Ginebra.
The Kings got that and more following a 101-97 victory Sunday in their Smart PBA Fiesta Conference semifinal series before a fullhouse crowd of approximately 12,000 at the Araneta Coliseum.
Barangay Ginebra came scrambling back from a six-point deficit in the closing minutes of regulation and then pulled out all stops in overtime to fashion the pulsating victory that enabled it to wrap up the best-of-seven series at four games to none.
“It's a big, big, big relief to get to the championships again,” said Kings coach Jong Uichico after the win that seemed improbable for majority of regulation and then became inexorable right at the midway point of the extension when they took a 101-94 lead.
The win extended the franchise streak record to 12 straight and, coincidentally, marks the 12th time in his coaching career that Uichico has made it to the finals, second with Barangay Ginebra.
He said this one is made more memorable by the trials and tribulations they had to go through following a 0-5 start in the tournament.
In the end, the crowd favorite ran up their franchise winning streak record to 12 straight, a feat Uichico tried to downplay.
“We don't think about streaks. The players think about trying to do the best they can to win the game. They are here to win. It's our job to win every game possible,” he stated.
That didn't stop him from being magnanimous towards Red Bull.
“Hindi naging madali ito para sa Ginebra. We fought really hard to get where we are right now because Red Bull is so hard to read,” he said.
“It's just that the breaks of the game went our way. They missed shots they usually make and we got the breaks at the right place, at the right time,” he added.
The Kings now await the winner of the other semis pairing pitting Magnolia and Air21.
The Express lead that series 2-1 with Game 3 being played later Sunday night.
Uichico's San Miguel Beer was the last team to start a conference with a 0-5 win-loss record and make it to the finals, the feat achieved in the 2003 Reinforced Conference.
The Beermen lost that one to the Chot Reyes-coached Coca-Cola Tigers and Uichico understandably refused to identify which team he prefers facing in the best-of-seven title duel.
“Enjoy na lang muna today, look at the second series and see who we're going to play,” he said.
Mark Caguioa scored a game-high 33 points to lead all scorers.
It was his fifth 30-plus point game in the tournament and 30th in the career of the 2001 Rookie of the Year, helping offset the low scoring game of teammate Jayjay Helterbrand and Chris Alexander, who combined for only 23 points.
Alexander and Rafi Reavis, however, each had 19 rebounds for Ginebra with the seven-foot import adding seven blocks to tie the season-high set by Red Bull counterpart Adam Parada.
Barangay Ginebra failed to win it outright in regulation but poured it all out in the extension by hitting its first four shots of the extra period and take a 101-94 lead, 2:31 left in the game.
The whirlwind spree was highlighted by a surprise triple from Paul Artadi and capped by a fastbreak, two-handed dunk by Reavis.
That proved enough of a cushion as Red Bull practically threw away its worthiest stand in the series by flubbing its ensuing offensive thrusts, three coming from beyond the arc inside the last 30 seconds.
Cyrus Baguio bucked a 2-of-10 shooting start to finish with 26 points and lead the Barakos, who are left with the prospect of salvaging their second third place finish in the season and third straight overall.
Parada had his most noteworthy performance of the duel with 24 points, nine rebounds and six blocks, but only Celino Cruz was the lone double figure scorer for the Barakos with 11.
What should gnaw at Red Bull for a long time were a blown 65-56 lead in the third period and a 90-84 spread in the last 2:37.
Helterbrand, who went into the game with a 21.0 ppg average, was held to just 10 points but capped it with a jumper that started a 6-0 windup by Barangay Ginebra that tied it at 90.
Helterbrand, the Best Player of the Game in the first three games of the series, almost became the goat, however, after the Kings regained possession in the last 15.3 seconds of regulation, dribbling away most of the seconds before putting up a jumper that fell way short against Baguio's defense. (NCo)
The scores:
Barangay Ginebra 101 - Caguioa 33, Alexander 13, Salvacion 13, Artadi 10, Helterbrand 10, Valenzuela 9, Reavis 9, Pacana 4, Mamaril 0, Menk 0.
Red Bull 97 - Baguio 26, Parada 24, Cruz 11, Najorda 8, Hrabak 7, Duncil 5, Alvarez 5, Robinson 5, Ybanez 3, Pennisi 3.
Quarterscores: 29-21, 48-47, 70-73, 90-90, 101-97.
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