Giants bank on ex-Bulls clutch plays

Purefoods leaned on the exploits of former Red Bull stalwarts as the Giants upended the Bulls, 80-72, last night in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo.

Kerby Raymundo, Enrico Villanueva, Rich Alvarez and Topex Robinson, who all used to don the Red Bull’s red jersey, delivered key plays at the finish, helping the Giants repeat their first-round win over the Bulls for a 5-5 win-loss card.

Raymundo, battling the effects of amoebiasis, made his presence felt, scoring 14 points, including seven in the last three minutes of play.

Robinson had a steal leading to a drive-in basket by Alvarez while Villanueva had his defensive presence as the Giants came through with a strong finishing kick to preserve James Yap’s 28-point performance.

Yap laced his explosive game with a 5-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc.

“Kerby gave us a huge lift although he’s not yet 100 percent healthy. The partnership of our dynamic duo (Raymundo and Yap) was at it again, winning a game for us,” said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio.

Gregorio was happy to hit the .500 mark but he expected the going to get tough with the tournament now in the second round of the elimination phase.

“It’s not going to be easy from here on. The good news is that Roger Yap and Peter June Simon are coming back soon,” said Gregorio.

Red Bull once again put up a big fight but floundered in the crunch as it reeled to a third straight loss and wound up with a 3-6 card in the first round of the elims.

New recruits Gabby Espinas and Larry Rodriguez carried the cudgels for the Bulls with old mainstays Cyrus Baguio and Celino Cruz struggling for only five points each. Espinas finished with a personal season high of 21 points with Rodriguez adding 12.

Espinas and Rodriguez did their share in a 13-to-nothing run the Bulls unleashed midway through the final period to surge ahead at 68-66.

The Giants recovered with Gregorio suing a timeout then fielding back Raymundo and Yap at the resumption of the contest.

Purefoods closed out with a 14-4 run with Raymundo and Yap at the forefront of the attack.

Meanwhile, co-leaders Alaska Milk and San Miguel Beer slug it out in the main game of a Saturday twinbill slated at the Astrodome today.

The two teams figured in a fierce battle in their previous meeting with the Aces barely escaping with an 85-84 win.

Air21 and Coca-Cola clash in the 2:30 p.m. opener with the Express determined to nail a second straight win after a sorry loss to the Beermen in their controversial double-overtime game last Nov. 5.