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Gin Kings take Game One
Source : Staff   
Friday, 08 August 2008 11:21

Like the advantage it had in crowd support, Barangay Ginebra also saw Game 1 of the best-of-seven series for the Smart PBA Fiesta Cup go lopsidedly in its favor.

The Gin Kings erased an early 10-point deficit with ease, built leads of as big as 20 before cruising to a 105-96 victory over Air21 after getting 22 points from Mark Caguioa and 18 points, 25 rebounds and five blocks from Chris Alexander at the jampacked Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.

Caguioa came off the bench to hit nine points in the second quarter when Ginebra wrested complete command and dealt Steven Thomas and the Express one of their worst beatings in the tournament.

“Winning (Game 1) is very important, because you give the other team the burden of adjusting,” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico.

Air21 played in the league’s grandest stage for the first time, and while the Express did start out hot, they couldn’t keep their 10-point lead and found themselves trailing by six after the opening 12 minutes.

“What happened was, we started very well because we were so fired up,” said coach Bo Perasol. “We just failed to sustain it.

“I think, after a while, the boys figured out that they are in the Finals, and it has a very different atmosphere,” he added. “But I think we will be (a) much better (team) in the second game.”

The Express made four of their first six shots for a 10-0 lead, which gave some of the players the opportunity to taunt the crowd they momentarily silenced.

But Rafi Reavis made Ginebra’s first basket after almost two minutes, and Junthy Valenzuela scored on a driving lay-up with 7:26 left and the Ginebra crowd came alive.

Paul Artadi ignited the Ginebra offense in his trademark spitfirish style, but he was carried into the locker room after pulling his hamstring with six seconds left in the first quarter after hitting a coast-to-coast lay-up for 25-19.

Thomas scored 21 points, but was forced by Alexander to miss 13 of 21 shots while losing the battle off the boards to his Ginebra counterpart, 25-16.

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 in the first game.

Meanwhile, Darryl Smith, the former Great Taste and Winston import, 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.


The scores:

First Game
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

Second Game
BARANGAY GINEBRA 105—Caguioa 22, Alexander 18, Valenzuela 12, Helterbrand 12, Menk 12, Reavis 8, Artadi 7, Pacana 6, Mamaril 4, Salvacion 4.
AIR21 96—De Ocampo 22, Thomas 21, Santos19, David 14, Arboleda 9, Se 6, Billones 4, Canaleta 1, Kramer 0, Cruz 0, Sotto 0.
Quarters: 25-19, 50-39, 79-62, 105-96
 
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