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Barako claim 3rd place
Source : Staff   
Thursday, 07 August 2008 02:56

Adam Parada scored a PBA career-high 33 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, leading Red Bull to a 102-90 victory over Magnolia and a third place finish Wednesday night in the Smart PBA Fiesta Cup at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

Leo Najorda also played his best offensive game in three years as a pro, shooting 15 of his 22 points in the breakaway second period as the Barako finished third for the third straight tournament and fourth overall in franchise history.

“It was the best consolation after a tough series with (Barangay) Ginebra,” coach Yeng Guiao said later. “It was the least we could do. At least, we finished third for the season and it’s not bad for a team like ours.”

Red Bull started out cold and trailed early, needing that big explosion by the 6-foot-4 Najorda in the second canto to gain control.

The Barako closed out the first quarter behind by six, but entered the third with a five-point lead. They ended the third period, where Parada scored 11 and Cyrus Baguio 10 of his 15, ahead by 15 points, 85-70.

It was all Red Bull from there even though the Beverage Masters, the league’s winningest team with 17 championships, did creep to within 86-82 after a Dorian Peña free throw.

Parada and Francis Adriano then combined for eight unanswered points as Red Bull zoomed inexorably ahead, 94-82, going into the final 6:14.

Rookie Ken Bono led the Beverage Masters with 15 points coming off the bench as Magnolia played import Amal McCaskill for just five minutes to give some of the locals the exposure they missed in the elimination round.

Carlo Sharma, meanwhile, was ejected at the 9:20 mark of the fourth quarter after throwing the ball at referee Gachi Ferrer. He is expected to be fined heavily by the Commissioner’s Office.

Guiao said that the team will take a break while management tries to re-sign around seven players whose pacts will expire at the end of the tournament.

Baguio, a prime contender for the Most Improved Player award, has, according to Guiao, already agreed in principle to stay with Red Bull, like four others whose contracts are about to end.

Topex Robinson, Warren Ybañez, Mike Hrabak and Sharma all have expiring deals but have signified their intentions to return.

Meanwhile, Darryl Smith, the former import for Great Taste and Winston, died Tuesday in Cebu after playing a pick-up game. He was 51.

Smith averaged 37 points, 13.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.6 steals in 31 games spread in two conferences in 1979 for the defunct Coffee Makers.

He played two games for Winston in 1983, averaging 27.5 points and 16 rebounds before being waived by Winston.

The scores:

RED BULL 102—Parada 33, Najorda 22, Baguio 15, Adriano 7, Cruz 6, Membrere 5, Bugia 4, Alvarez 4, Duncil 2, Sharma 2, Ybañez 1, Robinson 1, Hrabak 0.
MAGNOLIA 90—Bono 15, Cortez 13, Tugade 12, Seigle 12, Villanueva 10, Pena 9, Racela 8, Pingris 4, Tolomia 4, Gonzales 2, Eman 1, McCaskill 0, Calaguio 0.
Quarters: 22-28, 48-43, 85-70, 102-90
 
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