Member Area
You are here:
Kings vow to sweep Red Bull Sunday
Source : Staff   
Sunday, 27 July 2008 13:37

Barangay Ginebra, three up and all pumped up, goes for a sweep of its best-of-seven series with Red Bull Sunday while Air21 tries to move within a win from a first-ever appearance in the PBA championship.

The Gin Kings are tipped to beat the Bulls for the fourth straight time in their 4:30 p.m. encounter in the PBA Fiesta Conference Final Four at the Araneta Coliseum with the crowd favorites looking to preserve their unbeaten run in the playoffs, score the first sweep in a best-of-seven series in 14 years and nail a second championship appearance in the last four conferences.

The Express, meanwhile, seek to keep the momentum of their own charge versus the Beverage Masters, trying to move in the threshold of a first ever finals stint since joining the pro league in 2002.

Air21 and Magnolia square off at 6:50 p.m.

If Red Bull still fails to neutralize Chris Alexander, Mark Caguioa and Jayjay Helterbrand, Ginebra could well stretch its franchise-record run to 12 games and clinch the first slot in the finals via a four-game sweep.

"With a 3-0 lead, we want to get it over with the soonest possible time. We don’t want to make it difficult for ourselves," said coach Jong Uichico, hopeful they would finish off the Bulls today, scoring only the third 4-0 sweep in PBA history.

Ginebra team manager Samboy Lim and assistant coach Allan Caidic were members of the Northern Consolidated Cement team of coach Ron Jacobs which pulled off the first 4-0 sweep in the league in 2005 versus Manila Beer.

The Tony Harris-led Swift Mighty Meaty team of coach Yeng Guiao duplicated the feat versus the Seven-Up squad of coach Derrick Pumaren in the 1992 third conference.

Now, Guiao is on the other side of the fence, facing the possibility of being swept away.

The Bulls just couldn’t find an answer to the big games put up by Caguioa, Helterbrand and Alexander in the first three games of the series.

In Game Three, it appeared a pocket surprise in Topex Robinson would do it for Red Bull, but Caguioa, Helterbrand and Alexander again stood in the Bulls’ way, making it three in a row with a 94-91 victory.

Caguioa and Helterbrand scored 20 points apiece while Alexander piled up 16 rebounds, 13 points, four blocks and three assists as the Kings fended off the toughest challenge put up by the Barakos in the series so far.

Robinson was a key factor in Red Bull’s tough stand as the pesky guard out of San Sebastian played with so much intensity and energy, coming through with 11 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and three steals. He was frozen on the bench in the first two games.

The Kings expect an even tougher challenge today but promise to be ready.

"We need just a little push, and we’ll try our best to do it Sunday (today)," said Uichico.

Meanwhile, the Express are determined to put the pressure on the Beverage Masters in their own duel.

"If we can make it 3-1, we would already have a very good chance of reaching the finals for the first time," said Air21 coach Bo Perasol.

The Express have also been dominating the Beverage Masters in their head-on matches in the tourney, losing just once in the absence of import Steven Thomas.
 
Related Articles
WebPhilippine Sports

Sport Page

Motor Sports

More from this Section

Professional Sports
  • PBA   ( 17 Articles )

Professional Sports

Who's Online

We have 15 guests online