The win comes at a crucial time for Barako Bull, which snapped a four-game losing streak to move into a tie with idle Air 21 for the final quarterfinal spot with identical 4-9 records. The Energy Colas did it at the expense of what had been the hottest team in the tournament, as Ginebra had won five straight matches coming into the game.
“Siguro dahil sa napakagandang laro ng Ginebra last time, the tendency is to go down. But without taking away the effort of the players, we really played a hell of a defense. Ngayon pa lang gumagana yung defense na gusto naming mangyari, which we tried to adopt ever since my good friend coach Junel Baculi was coaching the team,” said Barako Bull coach Bong Ramos, who won his first PBA game since returning to the helm of the squad.
“Our defense was there even during our game against Meralco where we limited Sol Mercado, the No.1 scorer in the league as well as Mark Cardona and Ronjay Buenafe. Sadly, nakalusot lang yung mga role players nila, like Kelly Nabong.”
Barako Bull led for most of the first half, before Ginebra opened with a hot third quarter to briefly take the lead, 39-38, on a Rico Maierhofer layup. But the Energy Colas ended the period with a 13-7 run to take a 52-45 advantage heading into the final period.
The rampage continued for Barako Bull in the fourth quarter, pushing the lead to 11 points, 58-47, on a Ronald Tubid three-pointer. Mark Caguioa scored four points in a quick 6-2 Ginebra run, before Barako Bull rattled off a 10-2 blast to take its biggest lead, 70-55.
There was plenty of fight left in Ginebra, which rallied with Caguioa on the bench once more to cut the Barako advantage to just five points, 76-71. But Roger Yap, who scored 14 points and handed out five assists, hit a crucial three-pointer with less than a minute left to push the lead out of reach, 79-71.
Ronald Tubid scored 18 points to lead five players in double figures for Barako Bull, while Leo Najorda had 12 of his 14 points in the second half.
Ginebra’s win-loss record dropped to 7-6 into a three-way tie for fourth to sixth places with Alaska and Meralco.
The scores:
BARAKO BULL 83 – Tubid 18, Najorda 14, Yap 14, Cruz 10, Seigle 10, Kramer 6, Pennisi 6, Anthony 4, Ballesteros 1.
GINEBRA 79 – Helterbrand 18, Caguioa 13, Ellis 12, Mamaril 12, Maierhofer 8, Tenorio 8, Raymundo 6, Wilson 2, Taha 0, Maliksi 0, Espiritu 0, Hatfield 0.
Quarters: 16-17, 29-26, 52-45, 83-79
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