Red Bull halts Mobiline, Ward

Red Bull played well in defending and attacking Jerod Ward as the Thunder subdued the Mobiline Phone Pals, 97-92, in a big rebound from a losing debut in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

The Thunder held Ward 10 points below his 62-point game versus Ginebra Wednesday and, more importantly, took the fiery Mobiline import out on fouls with over four minutes left to play as they bounced back from an 81-84 loss to the Alaska Aces in the tournament opener last week.

Although Ward still finished with a huge production, Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao felt they did a good defensive job on the ex-Michigan Wolverine by holding him to a poor 37-percent shooting from the floor. Ward hit on a 46-percent clip versus the Kings.

"Our idea was to clip his effectiveness, let him shoot but lower his percentage and attack him on offense. And I think we did that," said Guiao.

Ward took exactly half of Mobiline’s 80 attempts from the floor and converted only 15 as he tried so much, challenging the double-teaming defense of the Thunder.

"We knew he’ll take shots even if you double him, so we became liberal on double-teaming him," Guiao said.

Worse, Ward went into foul trouble early and eventually fouled out with 4:10 left to play and his team behind by six at 83-89.

Infuriated by what looked like a bad call that resulted in his last foul, Ward ripped his jersey , revealing his white undershirt in front of startled fans.

Curiously, the Phone Pals came within one at 88-89 with Ward already rooted on the bench only to waste their efforts on crucial lapses in the last two minutes.

Lowell Briones played well coming off the bench and delivered clutch baskets to clinch the victory. The Cebuano guard-forward fired eight points in the fourth quarter and wound up with 14 that went with two rebounds against one error in 19 minutes of action.

Antonio Lang, who hastened their defeat to Alaska on woeful foul shooting, performed well at the stripe this time, making 11 of 13 attempts to finish with 29 points on top of 11 rebounds and six assists.

"Lang is a very intelligent player. His credentials and experience are unmatched by any of the other imports," said Guiao of his import.

The Thunder played a balance game with three other players in Davonn harp, Ato Agustin and Jimwell Torion also finishing in double figures.

Mick Pennis, who’s back in the starting lineup after a long bout with a shin injury, added six points, five rebounds and the same number of assists.