Red Bull off to Macau; Kings tame Dragons

With the team maintaining its competitive form despite the break, the Red Bull team leaves for Macau today for a three-day team-building and bonding in preparation for the long grind in the coming pro league season.

The Bulls depart for the former Portuguese colony in high spirits, having won their first two games in the PBA pre-season series, thus, giving them a good chance of ruling the mini tourney.

They have rolled past the Talk n Text Phone Pals and the Sta. Lucia Realtors, and only need to hurdle the Coca-Cola Tigers Wednesday and the San Miguel Beermen Friday to reach the one-game final.

"We’ll take another break in training to give the guys some good time together outside the playing court. The trip is also part of the bonus we promised the team after winning the Fiesta Cup," said Red Bull team manager Tony Chua..

Upon its return, the team plunges back to serious work as the Bulls play the Alaska Milk Aces in an official PBA game in Guam on Sept. 22.

That Red Bull-Alaska overseas match ushers in the 2006-07 PBA season which officially opens Oct. 1 at the Araneta Coliseum. New PBA team Welcoat clashes with Barangay Ginebra in a lone game after the elaborate opening rites.

Meanwhile, Coach Jong Uichico hopes the Ginebra Gin Kings would live up to expectations, having been billed the team to beat in the coming PBA season following massive team buildup.

" A lot of experts were saying we’re the strongest, the team to beat and I hope these pronouncements would turn out right," said Uichico moments after the Kings pounced on the Welcoat Dragons, 99-73, last night at the Lyceum of the Philippines gym.

It was the second straight victory for the Kings to keep the lead in Group B. The Dragons picked their second straight loss in the league’s pre-season tournament.

With Billy Mamaril scoring 20 points and Mark Caguioa adding 17, the Kings shot 61 percent in the first half including 5-of-8 from the three-point range that propelled them to a comfortable 57-37 advantage at halftime.

The game practically turned one-sided as Eric Menk, Rudy Hatfield, Rommel Adducul and Mamaril were pitted against a small and inexperience Welcoat crew.

"Mismatch talaga. Ang lalaki ng kalaban," said Welcoat head coach Leo Austria, who delegated the coaching chores to his deputies Carlos Garcia and Alex Compton.

Jay-R Reyes tallied 14 points to show the way for the Dragons.

"I really don’t think the score means anything. Against Purefoods, we played against a team that is still out of shape. With Welcoat, we played against a practically young team," Uichico stressed.

He said the team’s true strength will be gauged when they play teams that are as fit as the Kings like the Alaska Aces and the Air 21 Express.

The Kings play the Aces at 4 this afternoon at the Assumption College gym in Pampanga. They battle the Express next Saturday at the close of the single elimination which will be held at the Tarlac State University.

The Express are also unbeaten in two games and are tied with the Kings on top of the leaderboard.