Red Bull gores Hapee, shares lead

Willie Miller sizzled with the game on the line at endgame and Red Bull beat the Hapee Philippine Team, 90-82, in a fiercely-fought match that needed extra five minutes to finish to regain a piece of the lead in the Samsung PBA Governors Cup eliminations at the Cuneta Astrodome last night.

Miller, the league’s top draft pick last year, banged away the basket that forced the overtime in the closing seconds of regulation play, then extended his exploits in the extra period as the Thunder overcame the national hopefuls to catch up with the Purefoods Hotdogs at the helm with identical 4-1 win-loss cards.

RP Hapee absorbed its first loss in its last three outings and fell to sixth place at 3-2.

Miller scored 16 points, including five in overtime, and snared eight rebounds for the Thunder who rebounded from their shattering 58-81 loss to the Alaska Aces the last time out.

Meanwhile, Ron Hale and Harold Ellis continued to complement each other and proved to be a lethal combination anew as Coca-Cola made it two in a row with an 82-74 drubbing of Barangay Ginebra earlier.

Hale and Ellis struck hardest in the third quarter, fuelling a decisive Coca-Cola breakaway from a close 55-54 count that set the tone for the Tigers’ romp to their fourth win in six outings.

Ginebra ace local player Jun Limpot returned from sickbay to make his first appearance this season but his comeback hardly mattered as the Kings suffered a fourth loss against a lone win.

Also going for naught were the eight triples made by Des Ferguson in his second game in the local pro league.

Working fancy-free but surely effective, Hale and Ellis made the big difference as Coca-Cola completed a sweep of its side intramurals with sister teams San Miguel Beer, Purefoods and Barangay Ginebra.

Hale debuted in the league with 40 points as the Tigers walloped the Hotdogs, 89-69, last Sunday.