Red Bull, TnT eye second vs foes

The Gran Matador PBA Fiesta Cup, which took a brief break to give way to the RP-Iran dual meet Sunday and Monday, resumes today with Red Bull Barako and Talk n Text looking to catch up with Alaska Milk at second place while taking on separate rivals at the Araneta Coliseum.

Red Bull plays Sta. Lucia Realty at 4:45 p.m. while Talk n Text battles FedEx at 7:35 p.m. with both the Barakos and the Phone Pals chasing a sixth win in 10 starts.

Both the Barakos and the Phone Pals, however, expect tough challenge as they’re up against rivals who seem to have found their bearing after a struggling start in the season-ending tourney.

Thanks to the arrival of Ryan Fletcher, Sta. Lucia is now on a roll and out of the cellar with three straight victories — the franchise’s longest streak in nearly a year.

The Realtors made it three in a row versus the reigning champions Barangay Ginebra Kings Friday despite the sidelining of ace slotman Marlou Aquino due to a one-and-a-half-inch fracture on his left fore finger. His doctors said Aquino will be out for at least three weeks.

The Express, meanwhile, are a half-game ahead of the Realtors with a 4-5 card, winning their last game versus the Coca-Cola Tigers and 7-foot-1 import Darrell Johns in his farewell game in the local pro league.

Mark Sanford will be making a return stint in the PBA, taking over Johns tomorrow — the same day Melvin Robinson debuts with the Shell Turbochargers.

Sanford and the Tigers tackle the Beermen while Robinson and the Turbochargers tangle with the Hotdogs in a rare twinbill on the road in Balanga, Bataan.