Red Bull pulls one over SMB

GINGOOG, Misamis Oriental – Red Bull stood its ground against the powerhouse San Miguel Beer squad last night, pulling off a 114-113 upset in their out-of-town showdown in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Arturo Lugod gym here.

Leo Najorda scored 10 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter even as Celino Cruz, Cyrus Baguio and Gabby Espinas nailed crucial charities in the closing seconds as the Bulls stunned the Beermen for a second straight win following a 100-94 decision over the Barangay Ginebra Kings Sunday.

The Bulls caught up with the Air21 Express at seventh place on their back-to-back victories coming after a struggling 0-3 start in the all-Filipino tourney.

With a solid game on both ends of the floor, the Bulls stopped the San Miguel romp, relegating the Beermen (4-2) back to second place behind the Alaska Milk Aces (4-1).

Red Bull put up a surprise performance in dominating the highly fancied Beermen in the last three quarters of play.

The Beermen actually pulled abreast at 110-all on an eight-to-nothing run but the Bulls stayed unfazed, going to Cruz, Baguio and Espinas for crucial charities to preserve the win.

Espinas played his biggest game so far in a Red Bull uniform, making 16 points and a crucial steal which Baguio translated into two foul shots giving the Bulls a 113-110 lead with time down to 14.1 seconds.

San Miguel eventually yielded the game as Lordy Tugade misfired a three-point try from the right flank then Espinas grabbed the defensive rebound.

After Espinas split his charities off a quick San Miguel foul, Dondon Hontiveros banged in a three-pointer for the final tally.

The Beermen actually took the initiatives at the start but the Bulls hit their strides in the second quarter, rallying from a 23-33 deficit to seize a 61-58 lead at the half.

The Bulls stretched the margin to 90-82 at the end of the third and showed tremendous poise in fending off the Beermen’s chase at endgame.

Baguio totaled 17 points as he led six Red Bull players who scored in double figures. Hontiveros paced the Beermen with 19.

Meanwhile, action shifts back to the Araneta Coliseum with Coca-Cola continuing to play under interim coach Kenneth Duremdes in taking on the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters at 4 p.m.

Barangay Ginebra and Purefoods clash in the other game at 6:30 p.m.