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TOUGH TASK FOR RED BULL

Rampaging Kings go for semis sweep

By Arman Carandang

07/27/2008

Unless Red Bull comes up with an antidote to Barangay Ginebra seeming invincibility, their best-of-seven semifinal series in Smart-PBA Fiesta Conference will be over today.

Sporting a 3-0 lead in the series — which has never been achieved by any team in the last best-of-seven showdowns — the Kings go for a sweep today as they clash with the Bulls in Game Four at 4:30 p.m. at the Araneta Coliseum.

No team has ever stage a comeback from 0-3 down since the 10 best-of-seven finals series and that gives the Kings some smell of a first finals trip since winning the Philippine Cup last season.

Everything seems going on the side of the Kings, who have gone undeafeated in their last 11 games dating back late in the elimination, a streak that is the longest in franchise history and two wins shy of matching the league’s longest, the 13-game winning run by Alaska in 1996 Governor’s Cup.

Still coach Jong Uichico, speaking with a restrained grin, just would not talk about his team’s impending advance to the finals.

“We will always try. I do not want to talk about that until we have won four games. I still believe Red Bull has capability. It has the character,” Uichico said.

The Kings have outrebounded the Bulls for third straight time in the series. In last Friday’s Game Three, the Kings controlled the boards, 60-48, on the way to 94-91 victory. The Kings took Game One by a mile, 108-82, then repeated in Game Two, 111-101.

The Kings have never lost since acquiring import Chris Alexander to replace Ernest Brown, and their bench has become deeper with the acquisition of Junthy Valenzuela from the very same team they are facing in the semfinals.

The Bulls are on the semifinals for seventh straight time, and could only hope to do some spoiler’s role today.

Air21 guns for commanding 3-1 lead against Magnolia in Game Four of their separate series at 6:50 p.m. The Express dropped the first match, 113-87, when import Steve Thomas was still in the United States.

The Express, who are seeking their first finals appearcne since 2002, bounced back in Games Two (103-102) and Three (82-78).

Red Bull got close to championship in the last Philippine Cup but was ousted by Purefoods in Game Seven.

The same fate awaits the Bulls should they fail today.

The Bulls will have to find the best Adam Parada, who gave them big numbers that made them second-best in the elimination, but failed to make the difference in the series. Otherwise, they will have to kiss their finals aspiration goodbye.

The Kings, on the other hand, are expected to rely anew on the explosive combination of Jay-jay Helterbrand, Junthy Valenzuela and Mark Caguioa as they try to end it all today against the Bulls.