Villanueva had his breakthrough game in the All-Filipino tourney with 29 points and 10 rebounds, cushioning the impact of Nelbert Omolon’s career-best 30-point showing, as the Bulls swept the Realtors in two games in the classification round, thus improving their win-loss record to 5-6.
The Realtors, meanwhile, will already be carrying a 2-8 win-loss card as action resumes after the All-Star break Wednesday in the same venue. The May 3 twinbill pits Sta. Lucia against Coca-Cola at 4:40 p.m. then Alaska Milk versus Talk n Text at 7:35 p.m.
"We’ve won two games already. I think we’re now on our way of getting out of the slump. I’m not yet convinced that we’ve gotten out of it," said Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao.
Mick Pennisi, Junthy Valenzuela, Larry Fonacier and Cyrus Baguio also churned out significant numbers as the Bulls repeated their 104-90 rout of the Realtors last March 22.
PBA NOTES: Reigning Philippine Cup champion Barangay Ginebra suffered another crucial blow in its title-retention campaign with the ouster of reliable frontliner Romel Adducul. The 6-foot-5 former San Sebastian King Stag is scheduled to undergo an ankle surgery Tuesday that will sideline him for the rest of the season. "We’re slowly losing our key players. We’ve lost Andy Seigle, Rodney Santos and now Romel Adducul. Worse, Eric Menk has been playing hurt," said team manager Allan Caidic. — Nelson Beltran