Red Bull back on the lead

Red Bull mocked Sta. Lucia Realty’s zone defense with vicious post-up plays and wicked perimeter shooting, pulling off a 91-85 victory to virtually gain a seat in the Samsung PBA Governors Cup quarterfinals at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

Julius Nwosu and Joe Bunn wreaked havoc at the posts while Vince Hizon, Jimwell Torion and Willie Miller sizzled from the outside as the Thunder rolled past the Realtors and into the threshold of the quarters with a second straight win and fifth in six games in all.

Bunn and Nwosu both carved out a double-double performance, with the former logging 36 points and 11 rebounds and the latter 20 markers and 18 caroms as Red Bull caught up with Purefoods again atop the chart.

"Our post-up plays and perimeter shooting saved us from Sta. Lucia’s zone," said Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao as they dealt the Realtors a fourth loss against two wins.

Meanwhile, the Selecta Philippine Team, relying more on hardwork than sheer talent this time, came out of the rut last night, turning back Airfreight 2100/FedEx, 76-67, to stay in the thick of the fight for the quarters earlier in the day.

Kenneth Duremdes played his best game thus far this season, firing 17 points, including a clutch triple and an equally important finger-roll in the homestretch to personally finish off the Express.

"Probably, they (the national hopefuls) noticed Hapee winning games through hard work. For us to win games, we also need to work hard. We can’t afford to rely merely on our individual talents," said national coach Jong Uichico.

The national hopefuls checked a five-game slump and improved their win-loss record to 2-5.

Duremdes and Olsen Racela, both members of the 1998 RP Centennial team which won the bronze medal in the Bangkok Asian Games, were the strong forces that carried the national hopefuls through.

Duremdes scored 11 of his 17 points in the final half while Racela made all but four of his 14 markers in the same stretch.

With Duremdes and Racela taking turns in leading the RP Selecta charge in the final half, the team hung tough and went on to deal FedEx its fourth loss in seven outings.

Asi Taulava had a double-double outing with 12 points and 15 rebounds, Dennis Espino added 11 points, three rebounds and two assists while Eric Menk contributed eight points and nine rebounds.

Curiously, it was the FedEx import pair of Tim Moore and Jarmaine Walker who succumbed to pressure down the stretch. The two, who combined for 54 points, went 2-of-6 from the stripe at endgame.

With the game tied at 65-all, Dondon Hontiveros and Duremdes made a five-point binge as RP Selecta gained a decisive 70-65 advantage.

Moore and Walker earlier ran a good show, combining for 30 points as the Express dominated the first half, taking a 38-32 lead at the turn.

The Express jumped the gun on the national hopefuls, starting the game with a 22-8 run before settling for a 24-15 spread at the end of the first quarter.