Jay Washington Erupts as San Miguel Beermen Defeat Red Bull Barakos
Photo Credit: PBA.ph
With its chances of grabbing a spot in the semifinals in peril, the San Miguel Beermen made sure that it remains in contention for one of the coveted spots as they dealt the Red Bull Barakos their franchise-worst eight straight losses, 89-84.
I become a bit worried at the start of the ballgame as the Red Bull Barakos started like a house on fire, leading as much as 14 points (18-4) in the first quarter due to San Miguel Beermen’s turnovers, poor defense, and poor shooting.
Things turn around in the second quarter after the Beermen made the defensive adjustments by changing to zone defense resulting to the numerous unforced errors by Red Bull.
It was again a scary fourth quarter as the Barakos stormed back after trailing by as much 18 points earlier in the game. Good thing is that the Beermen kept their poise in the dying seconds to secure the win. Jay Washington was once again the hero of the ballgame firing 22 points, 12 rebounds, and 8/16 field goal.
Player Updates:
Froilan Baguion is now a new San Miguel Beermen player wearing jersey #27. The scrappy player was picked by the Beermen when he became an unrestricted free agent after the Coca-Cola Tigers dropped him from the lineup. His debut game is impressive as he orchestrated San Miguel’s plays well when he was on the hardcourt. I think he fits well to the system and will be a big help in the coming games. No trade happened and San Miguel Beermen just picked him up from the free agency market.
Marc Pingris has a grade 2 sprain. He will be out for at least 2 weeks, possibly 3 weeks. (from Miss nemonemo of PBA Forum). This was posted a few days ago. Good thing is I saw Marc Pingris joining the warmup doing some shooting so he is definitely fine and just need some time to heal the sprain.
Conference Updates:
The San Miguel Beermen will no longer be eliminated in the All Filipino Cup as last placer Red Bull, standing at 3-11, will only reach 7 games with 4 games remaining. Therefore, the 11 visitors who voted for this choice in the poll forecasted it wrong. They might be fans of the other teams.
2 more wins and we will get at least a playoff spot for the quarterfinals.
Check out the full news story below from the Philippine Basketball Association (pba.ph).
SAN MIGUEL KEEPS PIECE OF 2ND
Washington leads injury-plagued Beermen to win No. 9
Saturday, December 6, 2008Make it a three-cornered race for the two outright spots to the Final Four.
San Miguel, recovering its bearings in the nick of time, downed Red Bull Saturday, 89-84, to keep pace with upstart Rain or Shine in the 2008-09 KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome
The Beermen and the Elasto Painters now share second spot with identical 9-6 cards, one and a half games behind pacesetter Alaska’s 10-4.
Jay Washington had 22 points and 12 rebounds to lead San Miguel, which has been hounded by manpower woes. Danny Ildefonso had offseason surgery and has yet to be activated. Danny Seigle and Mike Cortez have likewise been sidelined due to injuries.
Point guard Froilan Baguion, dropped from the Coca-Cola roster a couple of days back, was quickly picked up by the Beermen to shore up their depleted backcourt. And he did give a good account of himself in his SMB debut.
“Froilan gave us a big lift,” said San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen. “He somehow adds another dimension to our game and improves the team.”
Red Bull, which dropped its eighth straight and at 3-11 is in danger of being the first team to be given the boot, started hot. The Barakos were in full control in the opening quarter and led 21-14 after 12 minutes of play.
The Beermen, however, got their acts together in the second period and quickly turned the tables on Red Bull.
Dorian Pena was ejected for a flagrant 2 foul during an altercation with Carlo Sharma in the second half. With one less big man on the other end, the Barakos mounted a rally and closed in at 75-77. But timely hits from Washington and Jonas Villanueva preserved the win for the Beermen.
At 7-6, Talk n Text is the Beermen’s and the Elasto Painters’ closest pursuer, and the one game advantage is by no means safe.
“Three games to go and everyone is neck and neck. One loss and you could go down four or five notches. It definitely is not a comfortable margin,” said Tanquingcen.
The scores:
SAN MIGUEL 89 – Washington 22, Villanueva 16, Hontiveros 14, Custodio 8, Pena 8, Gonzales 6, Eman 5, Pennisi 5, Baguion 3, Racela 2, Tugade 0.
RED BULL 84 – Espinas 14, Chan 10, Sharma 10, Rodriguez 9, Najorda 9, Hrabak 9, Cruz 7, Duncil 6, Ybanez 4, Baguio 4, Holper 2, Hubalde 0.
Quarters: 14-21, 46-36, 71-61, 89-84.
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