Fading Thunder roar back, gain quarters

Improbable. Incredible. Unbelievable.

For Red Bull Barako coach Yeng Guiao, the trick they did to stave off outright elimination bordered on these magical words.

He could be right.

The Thunder played listlessly in the first three quarters of play but made a bit turnaround in the fourth period, overcoming an early 25-point deficit and nipping the badly-stunned Shell Turbochargers, 83-82, for a slot in the Gran Matador PBA Fiesta Conference quarterfinals at the Big Dome last night.

Victor Thomas banged in 14 of his 32 points in the final period while Junthy Valenzuela pulled down an offensive rebound, sank two charities and blocked a shot by Chris Jackson all inside the last 10 seconds as the Thunder fashioned out one of the biggest comebacks in the league to gain the seventh slot in the foreign-flavored quarterfinals of the PBA transition tourney.

Barangay Ginebra completed the quarterfinals cast as the Kings fashioned out a come-from-behind win of their own, ousting the Sta. Lucia Realtors, 108-105, later in the night.

The eight teams in the quarters will be divided into two groups with San Miguel Beer, Talk n Text, Red Bull and the US Pro-Am selection composing Group A and Alaska Milk, Coca-Cola, Ginebra and University of British Columbia making up the other group.

Red Bull was down by 18 at 60-78 with only 8:27 left to play when the Thunder started to unleash the improbable fightback.

"This is the most incredible game I’ve ever coached. I admit, I had lost hope (of salvaging the game)," said Guiao.

"For one reason or another, the boys came out not motivated while Shell came out playing their hearts out. In that kind of situation, you have a zero chance of winning," Guiao added. "But I also believe in miracle. This is a miracle because I don’t believe anybody in the coliseum thought we could still win it as we still trailed by 20 in the fourth quarter."

With Mick Pennisi and Jimwell Torion also putting up tremendous efforts, the Thunder unravelled a swashbuckling 19-2 run in a stretch of a little over six minutes to come within one at 79-80 entering the last two minutes of play.

The Thunder seemed to put everything to naught when Pennisi committed an error then Valenzuela missed a harried three-pointer, giving the Turbochargers the opportunity to increase their lead to three, 82-79, on two free throws by Tony dela Cruz with 16 ticks left.

After a timeout, Thomas, however, quickly made an undergoal stab and earned a charity off the sixth and final foul of Billy Mamaril.

Thomas muffed the shot but Valenzuela grabbed the rebound and gained his own trip to the stripe off an ill-advised foul by Dela Cruz with 9.7 seconds to go.

Valenzuela showed poise and grace under gnawing pressure, burying both shots to give the Thunder their first and only lead in the night at 83-82.

The stone-hearted Cebuano player himself clinched the victory when he blocked a potential game-winning short stab by Jackson in the closing seconds.

"Victor Thomas just made a decision to make a difference in the fourth quarter," said Guiao of his import who also churned out 13 rebounds and four assists in 45 minutes of action.

At the end of the post-game interview, Guiao, however, said he’s still undecided what to say to the team in their dugout. "Sa totoo lang, hindi ko pa alam kung mumurahin ko o yayakapin ko sila," said Guiao.