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By Joel Orellana, Reporter
RED BULL put an end to Air21’s
sizzling start, inflicting the latter its first loss with a shaky
116-111 win Wednesday night in the TNT-PBA Fiesta Conference at the
Araneta Coliseum.
James Penny was held to just a
single point in the pay-off period after scoring 39 in the first
three quarters but the locals saved his terrific effort with clutch
baskets in the end as the Bulls snapped the Express’ four-game
winning streak and took the solo lead with 5-1 mark.
Penny finished with 40 points, 14
rebounds and 4 blocks but his heroics were preserved by timely
baskets of Cyrus Baguio and Carlo Sharma that thwarted the
last-ditch stand by Air21, which came back from as 16-point deficit.
“James Penny came through for
us again. He played well not only offensively but also
defensively,” said Red Bull head coach Yeng Guiao, who also drew
double figures in scoring from four Bulls.
“But I think Air21 is due for a
loss tonight while our confidence is very high after our 35-point
win against Sta. Lucia,” Guiao added.
Shawn Daniels had another
all-around effort for the Express with 28 points, 19 rebounds and 8
assists but missed a pair of crucial free throws in the closing
minute that could have given them a better chance to steal the game.
Gary David added 24 markers for
coach Bo Perasol, who lost Homer Se at 2:48 mark of the second
period after initiating a contact to referee Ronald Maurillo as he
complained on a foul call against him.
Down 97-106, Air21 reeled off
eight straight points to cut the lead to 106-105 but Red Bull
countered with a 6-0 run, the last four came from Baguio and Sharma
to put their advantage back to 111-105 with 2:11 left.
Mark Telan, who had another
double-double game with 10 points and 15 rebounds, scored on a
follow-up and after the Bulls’ empty possession, Daniels was sent
to the line but muffed both free throws.
Junthy Valenzuela hit his pair of
charities to give Red Bull some breathing room, 113-107. Daniels and
Santos hit their jumpers, while Valenzue split a pair of free
throws, 114-111, giving the Express the chance to send the game in
overtime.
Perasol sued for a timeout but
the play went for naught as Penny forced Santos to take a difficult
three-point attempt.
The scores:
Red Bull 116 - Penny 40,
Valenzuela 15, Baguio 12, Fonacier 10, Sharma 10, Najorda 6,
Robinson 6, Cruz 6, Villanueva 5, Alvarez 4, Bugia 2, Ybanez 0,
Hrabak 0.
Air21 111 - Daniels 29, David 24,
Santos 21, Telan 10, Canaleta 9, Arboleda 5, Andaya 4, Dimaunahan 3,
Bernardo 2, Se 2, Torion 2.
Quarters: 31-22; 67-54; 95-86;
116-111
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