PUREFOODS CLAIMS PHILIPPINE CUP

Raymundo, Yap, Pingris hand Limpot 1st PBA title
Friday, 21 July 2006 pba.ph

Purefoods Chunkee’s miraculous recovery in the semifinals did not go for naught as the Giants came up with one big game Friday night to subdue the Red Bull Barakos, 90-83, and capture the Gran Matador Brandy PBA Philippine Cup title.

Displaying solid teamwork, determination and grit, Purefoods put Red Bull away with an 8-2 run in the fourth quarter to wrap the series up, 4-2.
It was the first championship for the Giants since 2002 and they did it with a cast of young players whom coach Ryan Gregorio assembled and painstakingly steered from the time he officially took over the reigns in 2003.

Kerby Raymundo, who took the mantle of leadership from Alvin Patrimonio (now the team’s manager), led all scorers with 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds as he carried the fight for the Giants all night.

But he wasn’t alone. He got splendid support from James Yap, who edged him out for the coveted MVP trophy, and Mark Pingris, named MVP of the series.

James Yap scored 25 points while Pingris added 10 points and 14 rebounds.

But the victory was most definitely the sweetest for veteran and 1993 No. 1 overall pick Jun Limpot, who went 13 years in the PBA without a title until the Giants’ title-clinching win.

“Sa wakes nakuha ko na rin ang matagal ko nang pinapangarap,” said the 33-year old forward, who was given a victory ride by his teammates shortly after the final buzzer sounded.

After Red Bull beat in Game 5 to keep their victory party on hold, the Giants took Eugene Tejada’s No. 33 off their jerseys and changed it with the letters “ET”.

“We took off the No. 33 because we didn’t want Red Bull to tie the series at 3-3. We replaced it with the letters ET because it meant End Tonight,” explained Gregorio, who picked up his second championship and got himself in position to bag the Coach of the Year award.

“I’m so happy with what we have accomplished. I’m happy for Jun and I’m happy for the organization,” said Gregorio, who completed one of the greatest playoff comebacks in league history.

Nobody had expected the Giants to reach this series after they fell 1-3 against the Alaska Aces in their semifinal series.

But in an unexpected twist of fate, the Giants brought the Aces down three straight games to set up a sequel to their Fiesta Conference title showdown which was won by the Barakos.

As Gregorio proclaimed before the Finals, he has learned his lessons from his first meeting with Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao.

In this series, the youthful coach was in total control, making substitutions at the right time and keeping his players highly motivated despite coming off a loss.

For Guiao, the loss was another opportunity that slipped away in his quest for the most coveted championship.

The Giants threatened to break the game wide open right the opening quarter as the Barakos struggled with their offense – something that has troubled Red Bull in the series.

With Red Bull throwing bricks, James Yap, Raymundo and Roger Yap seized the opportunity by outscoring the Barakos, 26-10, in a span of eight and a half minutes that propelled the Giants to a seemingly comfortable 30-14 lead at end of the first quarter.

The Barakos were far from finished though.

They battled back behind a sterling defensive effort that saw them deflecting passes, contesting shots and battling for loose balls. By the end of the first half, they were just five points behind, 34-39.

Red Bull kept the game close but couldn’t put together a run that could enable them to force a deciding seventh game.

Lordy Tugade scored 21 points to show the way for Red Bull but shot just 6-for 20 from the floor. Junthy Valenzuela tallied 19 points and Mick Pennisi added 15 for the Barakos, who made just 18-of-30 free throws that contributed to their poor field goal shooting. (DBC)

The scores:

Purefoods 90 – Raymundo 27, Yap J. 25, Pingris 10, Limpot 9, Castillo 9, Yap R. 7, Camason 2, Yee 1, Artadi 0, Simon 0.

Red Bull 83 – Tugade 21, Valenzuela 19, Pennisi 15, Villanueva 11, Baguio 8, Robinson 4, Fonacier 2, Cruz 2, Najorda 1, Bugia 0, Hrabak 0.

Quarters: 30-14, 39-34, 65-59, 90-83.


TJHOTDOGS.COM, PBA