22 Oct 2010
For about a third of the game, Barako Bull showed it can play at par with a talented team like Barangay Ginebra.

But in the end, the obvious finally surfaced.

The Kings outscored the Energy Boosters with a big run bridging the third and fourth quarters to hammer out a 93-74 win Friday night in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Astrodome in Pasay City.

The league's most popular ball club found itself trailing by a double digit margin in the second quarter, fought its way back just before the opening half ended, and thwarted Barako Bull's final assault in the third period, before coming through with another big scoring burst that settled the outcome.

Mark Caguioa paced the Kings with 18 points, four rebounds and an assist, Willie Miller contributed 13 points, the same production from Rudy Hatfield, who also grabbed a conference-high 22 rebounds.

Despite playing without injured big men Eric Menk and Yancy De Ocampo, the Kings notched their second win in four games to somehow ease the pain of their heartbreaking 69-68 defeat to San Miguel Beer last Sunday in a match where Ginebra wasted a 21-point lead.

"There is still a lot of work to do on our side," admitted Ginebra mentor Jong Uichico. "We're still shaky and we can’t do that against contenders. Still, this is a win that could get our morale back. And I just hope we can carry this over into Sunday’s game (against Derby Ace)."

Barako Bull fell to 1-3 to share the bottom of the standings with Meralco and Derby Ace.

But the Energy Boosters had the Kings on the ropes early on, as Reed Juntilla and former Ginebra players Aries Dimaunahan and Sunday Salvacion took turns burning the hoops for a 29-17 lead with 9:43 left in the second quarter.

The Kings, however, applied the pressure on the Energy Boosters, using a full-court trapping defense for which Barako Bull had no answer. The Kings get took a six-point halftime lead, 45-39.

The Energy Boosters had one more fight left in them.

Rob Wainwright drilled in a three-pointer at the 2:57 mark of the third to threaten the Kings for the last time, 60-59.

Then, the floodgates opened.

Ginebra detonated a 26-6 assault to turn the game into a rout. By the time the Kings were through with their onslaught, the Energy Boosters were already way behind, 86-65.

Barako Bull was held to just 11 points in the payoff period.

Aries Dimaunahan showed the way for Barako Bull with 14 points, while Mark Isip produced a double-double with 13 markers and 15 rebounds. � JVP/KY, GMANews.TV

Scores:

Ginebra 93 - Caguioa 18, Miller 15, Hatfield 13, Cortez 11, Tubid 8, Helterbrand 8, Aquino 5, Intal 5, Wilson 5, Mamaril 3, Villanueva 2, Cruz 0.

Barako 74 - Dimaunahan 14, Isip 13, Hubalde 11, Salvacion 9, Juntilla 8, Thiele 7, Wainwright 7, Andaya 2, Misolas 2, Bono 1, Hermida 0, Cruz 0.