Red Bull makes history

Red Bull got off to a tremendous start, wavered in the face of a sizzling comeback by the enemy but held on in a nerve-wracking finish against multi-titled San Miguel Beer to fashion out a 75-69 victory and won its first championship before another huge crowd at the Big Dome in Game Six of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup.

Thus, the Thunder emerged as one of the talent-laden franchises to have won a crown on their only second year in the PBA and fifth conference and they made the feat against master champion who was looking for a second grand slam to firm its dynasty in the league.

In the end it was Red Bull’s destiny to win one of the toughest, drama-fraught, violence-prone title series that ever unfolded in the 26-year-old pro league.

Destiny it was for in the gut-wrenching but error-filled finish, it was the Beermen, known for their great endgame character, who succumbed to championship pressure while the Thunder simply plodded on behind the resurgent Tony Lang and the blue-collar type of game by DaVonn Harp and Mick Pennisi.

So pressure-filled was the contest down the stretch that the Beermen failed to score in the last three minutes and 51 seconds after Danny Seigle came up with a drive for a 69-68 count for San Miguel.

But Lang banged away a slam and Harp drove for 70-69 and after Seigle missed on a three-pointer, the Thunder threw possession on a 24-second violation.

That set the stage for a big surge by San Miguel but Nate Johnson, who was SMB’s top man in Game 5 with 43 points, hesitated on a baseline play and committed a costly passing error that virtually did the Beermen in.

Still, the Beermen refused to give up as Seigle gained possession on an interception but San Miguel just couldn’t buy a basket and finally lost the contest when Junthy Valenzuela controlled a loose ball from a muffed Red Bull offensive in the last 12 seconds of the contest.

Veteran Ato Agustin, at 38 one of the oldest active players in the league, finalized scoring with two free throws. By that time, the Red Bull bench had emptied itself with a hugging , joyous cluster of players, fans and officials while the top of the dome opened up with a glitter of confetti moments after the buzzer.

"It’s been a long time. The best thing about this series is we beat a great, classy organization and that makes it even prestigious for us," said Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao, noting that they won the game with a resolute defense.

" It ‘s all about defense, not making the points. We made the big stops in the endgame, " he said .

Red Bull started with its guns ablaze but tapered off in the second quarter as it settled for a 44-41 halftime lead after leading by as many as 17 points early on.

The Beermen went to Danny Seigle, and Danny Ildefonso with Nate Johnson riding the bench with three fouls as they waged a fierce chase from 17 points down at 18-35 to come within one at 41-42.

The Thunder gained some extra breathing room going into the final half as Tony Lang, who was back to his old self after a lethargic four-point showing in Game Five, scored on a top-of-the-key jumper off Fredie Abuda at the buzzer.

So impressive were the Thunder in the early goings that they made all their field-goal baskets in the first nine minutes of play from the three-point range or through thunderous slams.

Mick Pennisi, Lordy Tugade and Ato Agustin strung up six three-pointers while DaVonn Harp and Lang had one dunk each in a blazing start that had Red Bull racing ahead, 23-9, with 2:56 left in the first quarter.

After the first 24 minutes of play, Lang had 17 points, four rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block. This time, Johnson was the one throwing bricks as he hit only five on 2-of-6 field-goal shooting.

But Seigle picked up the slack left by Johnson as the former Wagner University hitman fired 18 points while also pulling down eight rebounds and dishing out three assists.

For a change, it was San Miguel which committed more turnovers as the Beermen had 11 errors to the Thunder’s seven.