Barakos just a win away from PBA semifinals

01/24/2008 | 12:53 AM
The Barakos take their first crack at closing the series in Game 2 on Friday at the same venue.

High-flyer Cyrus Baguio, a former stalwart of the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers in the UAAP, scored a career-high 31 points.

Mike Hrabak and Mick Pennisi nailed decisive three-pointers at the end to help their team win.

Hrabak made with 21 points – his biggest output in the league in the last four years.

Pennisi made 11 points and nine rebounds while playing extended minutes without nig man Carlos Sharma who served a one-game suspension for his fight with Jondan Salvador in the Purefoods-Red Bull setto closing out the double-round elims.

"We missed Carlo (Sharma) a lot because Magnolia is really big. But we didn’t give up and played with a bigger heart," said Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao after the game. "We still got their (Magnolia) number. We’re now 3-0 against them in this tournament but it won’t matter if we don’t win this series."

"Winning Game One gives you 60 percent of winning this series. It’s not yet over, but our battlecry in the next game is to finish it," Guiao added.

Baguio ran a spectacular show, coming through with several highlight moves on the way to improving his previous career-high of 30 points.

Baguio went 11-of-13 from the field and 8-of-9 from the stripe while also coming through with six assists, five rebounds, and a steal in a sterling 35 minutes of awesome action.

But the Barakos needed Hrabak’s and Pennisi’s treys to build a 104-98 cushion entering the final minute of the fiercely fought battle.

Junthy Valenzuela and Leo Najorda also chalked up double-figure outputs as the Barakos engaged the Beverage Masters in a virtual shootout.

It helped that Red Bull shot 50 percent from the field against Magnolia’s 44.4-percent clip.

Wesley Gonzales was perfect from the field (5-of-5) in the first half but failed to score again.

Danny Seigle and Lordy Tugade carried the bulk of the fight for Magnolia in the second half with the latter hitting back-to-back three-pointers that shoved the team within two at 104-106 with time down to 6.4 seconds.

But Baguio gave Red Bull more breathing room with a free throw before Magnolia eventually saw its bid vanish in the air with Chris Calaguio missing a desperation three-pointer at the buzzer.

Seigle fired 25 points to pace the Beverage Masters, who also drew 10 points or more from Tugade, Dorian Pena, Danny Ildefonso, Gonzales, and Enrico Villanueva.

Scores

Red Bull (107): Baguio 31, Hrabak 21, Valenzuela 18, Najorda 13, Pennisi 11, Adriano 5, Bugia 3, Robinson 3, Ybanez 1, Cruz 1

Magnolia (104): Seigle 25, Tugade 15, Pena 15, Ildefonso 13, Gonzales 10, Villanueva E. 10, Hontiveros 8, Villanueva J. 5, Tenorio 3, Wilson 0, Racela 0, Calaguio 0

Quarters: 22-20, 45-47, 77-78, 107-104


Source: http://www.gmanews.tv/story/77764/Barakos-just-a-win-away-from-PBA-semifinals