Underdog Red Bull Trips San Miguel

GINGOOG, Philippines— The squad with the ultra-loaded arsenal just got a wake-up call from the team considered the unlikeliest to deliver it.

Red Bull came charging back from 12 points down to post a 114-113 decision of rock-solid San Miguel on Saturday that snapped the Beermen’s four-game winning streak in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup eliminations.

Listed as the decided underdogs coming into the road game at the Arturo Lugod gym here, the Barako dug deep and matched the Beermen’s up-tempo, high-scoring style to bring down a heavyweight for the second straight time and rise to 2-3.

It was the first loss in more than two weeks for the Beermen, who came into the contest owning a string of lopsided victories, the last a 29-point blowout of sister squad Barangay Ginebra.

San Miguel dropped out of a share of the lead with idle Alaska with a 4-2 card.

Gabby Espinas, the former NCAA Rookie-MVP who has finally found a home in Red Bull, broke up a crucial San Miguel offensive to pave the way for two Cyrus Baguio free throws with 14.1 seconds left for 113-110.

The under-sized center then grabbed a rebound off a three-point miss by Lordy Tugade on the other end, was fouled, then sealed the outcome with a free throw split, 114-110 with six seconds remaining.

“I think they’re the most talented team here and we are the least talented,” Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao told the Philippine Daily Inquirer. “This is the biggest upset we can achieve.”

Guiao got his inexpensive and much-maligned roster to perform well above par with six players scoring in twin digits and losing the rebound battle narrowly, 51-54, against the hulking San Miguel frontline.

The scores:

RED BULL 114—Baguio 17, Espinas 16, Cruz 15, Najorda 14, Sharma 14, Hubalde 10, Chan 6, Hrabak 6, Alvarez 3, Duncil 2, Ybanez 0, Membrere 0.

SAN MIGUEL 113—Hontiveros 19, Washington 16, Custodio 15, Tugade 15, Villanueva 13, Pena 12, Racela 10, Bono 6, Gonzales 4, Pennisi 2, Calaguio 1.

Quarters: 23-22, 61-58, 90-82, 114-113