Back in business

Make no mistake about it, Red Bull is back in business in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) All-Filipino Cup.

After playing listlessly in losing Games 1 and 2 to Purefoods, the Barakos buckled down to work and won Game 3 with plenty to spare at the Araneta Coliseum last Sunday night. They controlled the boards, forced the Chunkee Giants into a spate of turnovers, scored a bundle in transition and kept Kerby Raymundo in check.

Purefoods never led in the second half and fell behind by 17 in the third period. The Giants ignited a 9-0 blast early in the fourth quarter to trim the deficit to seven but Topex Robinson ended Red Bull’s silence with a layup to make it 65-74, time down to 6:45. The Barakos then held Purefoods at bay until the final buzzer to win, 89-79.

Raymundo was hounded by Red Bull’s merciless defense from the start and finished with only 10 points on 2-of-7 from the field and 6-of-6 free throws. Coach Yeng Guiao made sure Raymundo wouldn’t come close to scoring 30 points like he did in Game 1. He threw one fresh defender after another at Raymundo who struggled to get free all night but just couldn’t break loose.

Five Barakos scored in double digits as Red Bull used a balanced attack to overwhelm Purefoods. Lordy Tugade erupted for 22 points, 12 in the third period, to lead the assault. Junthy Valenzuela, Enrico Villanueva, Celino Cruz and Cyrus Baguio also shot in twin figures.

Tugade and Cruz combined for seven triples, four more than Purefoods’ total from the distance.

Cruz and Mick Pennisi started for the first time in the Finals. Guiao has now juggled nine players to start in the three games, something he likes to do in keeping with his unpredictable style. Although momentum has shifted to Red Bull’s side, the Barakos aren’t out of the woods yet. If they lose Game 4 tonight, Purefoods moves up, 3-1, and the Giants earn three chances to win just once more for the title. But if Red Bull scores again, it’s back to square one with the series tied at two wins apiece.

The pressure is on Red Bull to equalize. The Barakos have been there and done that so they’re used to playing the odds. The key is rebounding. If Purefoods is able to hold its own off the boards, Red Bull will be hard pressed to run and gun. Another key is turnovers because the more errors Purefoods commits, the more chances Red Bull has to score in transition.

In 56 best-of-7 series, 52 teams that opened a 2-0 lead went on to win the championship. That means Purefoods has a 93 percent chance of capturing the crown. But wait. Red Bull is unbeaten in a best-of-7 series, including three in the Finals and that streak is hard to snap.

Something’s got to give and the first clue as to which team is likely to crack will be revealed after Game 4 tonight.

* * *

The second conference of the Management Partners Group Corporate Basketball League (MCBL) will be held from September to mid-October and registration is now going on for interested teams to join. Deadline for registration and settlement of fees is July 31.

The MCBL is a league for regular employees of companies looking to play against other corporate teams. One thing that makes the MCBL different from other leagues is it groups teams into divisions based on their relative strength. A basic goal is to create divisions where teams will be at par with one another.

"Last year, when we started the tournament, three teams, Soluziona, Emerson and 7-Eleven, failed to make it past the elimination round," said Miguel (Chiqui) Paterno, director of Management Partners. "In the first conference this year, these three teams finished on top of the new division that was formed for them. One of them, 7-Eleven, was winless last year. If teams don’t play in a balanced division right away, they eventually will."

The MCBL started as part of a series of tournaments organized by Management Partners for Gillette Vector. Early this year, the MCBL staged its first conference with 13 teams split into two divisions (Group A – E-Data, NU3 Foods, Petron, P&G Proctoids, Shell and Unilever and Group B – Adidas, Emerson, ING Bank, Ramcar, 7-Eleven and Soluziona).

"We purposely kept the launch of the first conference low key as we only approached mostly players who have played in other leagues that Management Partners manage," said Paterno. "If anything, we wanted to iron out kinks in the system, if any, before we offered it to the general public. Having done so, we’re now ready for a much larger second conference."

The MCBL has tapped Waffle Marketing to assist in promoting the second conference.

"We definitely welcome this opportunity to work with the MCBL," said Waffle president Auty Villarama. "Not only does it espouse a lifestyle of fitness, it also fosters camaraderie among employees in companies. The beauty of the MCBL structure is that there is no limit to the number of teams that can join or the number of divisions that can be formed. No matter how strong or weak a team is, it will eventually find a division where it will be at par with most of the teams."

For inquiries, call Paterno at 635-3257 or cell 0917-5337778.