Barakos put cuffs on Chargers

The Red Bull Barakos yesterday pulled one solid defensive effort together in a night spiced up by veteran star Nelson Asaytono reaching a personal milestone as the team whipped the Shell Turbochargers, 98-89, at the Araneta Coliseum.

Dalron Johnson, Lordy Tugade and Asaytono accounted for almost three-fourths of the team’s point production but the team’s collective effort defensively proved to be the biggest factor as they neutralized Shell’s explosive import Wesley Wilson for the win that drew them level with the Purefoods Hotdogs and the San Miguel Beermen atop the Gran Matador PBA Fiesta Cup leader board.

That made it an extra meaningful night for Asaytono, who at 38, surged into No. 5 overall in the league’s all-time scoring ladder, rolling past Philip Cezar (12,077) as the former University of Manila King Hawk made 17 points and increased his career total to 12,084.

"Masayang-masaya ako dahil sa dinami-dami ng nag-laro sa PBA, No. 5 ako sa scoring," said Asaytono, achieving the feat in 796 games played in 17 seasons so far in the league.

"I’m thankful to the Lord for giving me this strength. Patuloy lang akong magpakundisyon at kung patuloy din akong bigyan ng lakas, tuloy pa rin ako sa laro," added Asaytono, hoping to catch Atoy Co (12,994) at No. 4.

The league all-time top three leading scorers are retired players Ramon Fernandez (18,996), Abet Guidaben (15,775) and Alvin Patrimonio (15,091).

Johnson also gained a feat with a personal tournament best of 27 points on a night Shell counterpart Wesley Wilson — the league’s scoring leader — was limited to a tournament low of 17 points.

"Before the game, I told the boys Wilson’s inside game and his teammates’ outside shooting are the two major components in Shell’s game. We managed to stop both, that’s why I considered this win a defensive triumph for us," said Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao.

Barangay Ginebra made it a four-way tie atop the chart as the Kings nipped the Sta. Lucia Realtors,93-87, in the second game.

Mark Caguioa hit his first eight shots from the field to finish with a game-high 40 points while Eric Menk shone in the endgame as the Kings also improved to 4-2.