Thunder rumble back, level series

Red Bull rediscovered its old championship form whipped up by a bold move to rid itself of its old import, poundingTalk N Text, 89-81, in Game Four of their Samsung PBA Commissioner’s Cup title playoff at the Astrodome last night.

The Thunder flirted with disaster in the closing minutes after leading by as many as 22 points, 67-45, early on but survived to score the key victory that evened the best-of-seven series at two games apiece.

With the series down to a best-of-three , the Thunder and the Pals dispute the pivotal third win in the playoff that has turned to be a September thriller in Game Five tomorrow back at the Araneta Coliseum.

Reunited with old import Sean Lampley following the ouster of Tony Lang, the Thunder came out bristling as they jumped the gun on the Phone Pals with a dizzying pressing defense of their own.

The Thunder gave the Phone Pals a dose of their own medicine by utilizing a pesky press and moving the ball well on offense in racing to a 40-21 lead midway through the second quarter.

They kept commanding leads in the third quarter but lowered down their guard in the fourth and nearly paid for it when the Phone Pals came back behind booming outside shots and fluid running game.

In the end, it took clutch hits by Junthy Valenzuela, Davonn Harp and Willie Miller at the finish to foil Talk N Text’s bid in the contest.

Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao later reiterated their move to fire Lang and, at least for the night, proved them right.

But Guiao said credit in their Game Four victory belonged to the entire team."The team picked up the pieces of our loss the last time. And Game Four victory gave us new lease on life, " he said.

With Lang out, Guiao said the team now has the right imports and right locals to go for a title repeat in the tourney. He said: "Everything will now depend on how much we want to win the championship."

Julius Nwosu redeemed himself from his 13-point showing with a big double-double outing with 27 points and 13 rebounds, keeping his job in the process. The team had hired a backup import in Corey Hightower.

As in his previous stint with Red Bull, Lampley dished out a solid game although practically coming straight from the airport, tallying 22 points and nine rebounds.