FedEx notches best finish—third

FedEx has now got a PBA trophy to display in its Cargohaus office in Pasay City.

Though playing short-handed minus two players, the Express claimed the Samsung PBA Invitational Cup second runner-up honors with a convincing 99-84 win over Red Bull Barako at the Astrodome last night.

It was the Airfreight 2100 franchise’s best showing thus far following a sixth-place finish, two seventh-place outings and a 10th-place windup in its first four tournaments in the league.

"We wanted to make it to the finals but we missed it by a game. Nagkasundo na lang kami to try to finish the tournament on a winning note and we did it," said FedEx coach Derrick Pumaren.

"Hopefully, this would serve as a springboard for us in the Third Conference. We’re looking forward to make a better showing there," Pumaren added.

The Express hope to have their coming-out party in the Reinforced Conference where they will compete with four-year NBA veteran Darrin Hancock as import.

"We’ve yet to see him close dahil kararating pa lang at pagod pa. Probably, we’ll see what he can do as we play Shell in a tune-up game Thursday," said Pumaren of his import, a Kansas University product who later suited up with the Charlotte Hornets and the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA.

The Express hardly missed the absence of Ryan Bernardo and Egay Billones as they pounded the half-hearted stand of Barako.

Roger Yap, playing extended minutes at the backcourt with Billones nursing a foot injury, fashioned out a solid all-around game with 19 points, six rebounds and five assists.

Yancy de Ocampo dished out a double-double game with 11 points and 10 rebounds while Renren Ritualo, John Ferriols and Vergel Meneses all scored no less than 14 points.

Shooting much better from the field, FedEx dominated Barako, enjoying the lead throughout the final half.

Barako engaged FedEx in a fierce duel only in the first half which was marked by six deadlocks and four lead changes.

Mick Pennisi also had a double-double outing for Barako with 25 points and 13 rebounds.