Thomas shines as Thunder stay in hunt

Barangay Ginebra dominated the paint but Victor Thomas got away with crucial inside plays down the stretch as the Red Bull Barako Thunder turned back the Kings, 101-98, and remained in the hunt for an outright quarterfinals entry in the Gran Matador PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

Thomas banged away the go-ahead basket, 99-98, on a close stab off three defenders with time down to 18.8 seconds then swatted away potential game-winning attempts by the Kings in the ensuing plays as the Thunder snatched the victory in a fierce and furious contest. The win gained Red Bull a share of third place with the Alaska Aces and the Talk n Text Phone Pals with identical 9-7 cards.

After Thomas foiled Torraye Braggs’ barreling drive and Mark Caguioa’s three-point attempt, the Kings actually had one more chance to force an overtime as Braggs himself grabbed a looseball with two seconds left in the clock.

But the Ginebra import’s shot proved short and the Kings finally dropped out of the race for an outright quarters slot on their ninth defeat against seven wins.

On a roll with four wins in their last five games before the game, the Kings need to regain their winning ways and sweep their last two games in the preliminary round versus the Phone Pals and the Aces to gain a shot at a twice-to-beat incentive in the wildcard plays.

"We expected a bruising game with Eric Menk and Torraye Braggs imposing their strength underneath the baskets. The good thing was that we have players to match up with them," said coach Yeng Guiao who was able to limit the production of the league-leading offensive team behind a fine defensive game.

The Kings, curiously, had made a big turnaround from an awful start in the tourney, winning four of their last five games with an average of 121.3 points a game and an average winning margin of 20.5 points.

"You have to say something to what Ginebra has done to its team. It has improved a lot and is now moving the ball around very well. It’s a tribute to them," said Guiao.

For a while, Ginebra appeared it would stay on a roll until Thomas rose to the occasion for Red Bull, clinching the win that kept the team in a fiery contest with Coca-Cola, Alaska and Talk n Text for the right to join San Miguel Beer into the quarters.

Thomas’ heroics also had coach Guiao slamming reports that they were about to replace their current import with old reinforcement Julius Nwosu.

Sta. Lucia improved to sixth place and kept its flickering hopes for a twice-to-beat incentive in the wildcard plays as the Realtors repulsed the FedEx Express, 117-111, in the second game.

Thomas’ heroics also had coach Guiao slamming reports that they were about to replace their current import with old reinforcement Julius Nwosu.

"He’s thin and may not be as talented as the others. But he’s the guy we like. We think he’s the fit that we need, at least for now," said Guiao.

Thomas delivered more than enough reasons last night for Guiao not to tinker on looking for a replacement. The reed-thin but effective inside operator made 26 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and the same number of blocks and capped his exploits with the game-winning plays.

Braggs followed up his triple-double game the last time out with 38 points and 15 rebounds. Menk backed him up with 23 points and 11 rebounds with Caguioa and Rodney Santos chipping in 11 points apiece.

Striking heavily at the paint, the Kings jumped the gun on the Thunder and carried a 27-14 advantage into the second quarter.

However, Red Bull picked up its game with Homer Se and Lordy Tugade coming strong off the bench in the second period as the Thunder seized a 48-44 lead at the half.