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Red Bull
and Coca-Cola are looking pretty good.
The
coleaders hope to keep the pressure on their closest
pursuers as they wrap up their elimination-round
campaign in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA)-Smart
Fiesta Cup.
Red Bull
battles upset-conscious Welcoat at 4:50 p.m., and
Coca-Cola takes on slumping Alaska in the succeeding
game of an interesting twinbill at the Araneta Coliseum.
For a
team that has practically given away its franchise
players, it’s hard to imagine the Barakos staying
competitive and, surprisingly, leading the field.
The
success of the Barakos has been credited to coach Yeng
Guiao’s ability to bring out the best from his troops
now reduce a rag-tag team.
Then
there is Cyrus Baguio, who took over the leadership role
from the time Junthy Valenzuela was traded to Barangay
Ginebra exactly a month ago. The slam-dunking,
high-scoring guard leads the Red Bull locals in scoring
with 19 points a game.
And
last, but not the least, Adam Parada. The seven-foot
Mexican import is a perfect fit for the Barakos that he
has become the barometer of imports this conference.
“It’s a
good sign,” offered Guiao, referring to their position.
“But that’s not a guarantee we can achieve what we set
out for. Marami pang pwedeng mangyari.”
Undoubtedly, the Barakos are coming into the game as a
heavy favorite, although an upset is not being
discounted.
Red Bull
(6-2) and Welcoat (3-5) may be poles apart but the
Dragon’s success lately is hard to overlook.
After
starting their campaign with four straight defeats, the
Dragons made noise by winning three of their last four
games against elite teams Purefoods, Magnolia and Talk
’N Text.
“It’s
about attitude,” said Welcoat coach Caloy Garcia. “If we
could just be consistent and play with a big heart every
night, I think we can compete with the best of them.”
Coca-Cola is also having a great run but the Tigers will
be put to test in their 7:20 duel against Alaska Aces.
Coca-Cola coach Binky Favis admits the challenges “get
more difficult by the day and it get harder and harder.”
After
chalking up their sixth win—106-92 win against Magnolia
on Friday—the Tigers enjoyed a well-deserved four-day
rest so they should be highly energized coming into the
game.
Obviously, the Aces (2-6) didn’t have that luxury. They
are coming off a heartbreaking 78-88 defeat to Purefoods
in Saturday’s road game, bringing their losing streak to
a total of four.
Indeed,
Alaska is desperate to stop the bleeding. But to
accomplish that, the Aces will have to find ways to
contain imports Gee Gervin and Jason Dixon—Coke’s
reliable tandem. Also, Alaska will have to try to limit
the outputs of Asi Taulava and rookie Ronjay Buenafe. |
