The Barakos seemed to play with stronger legs playing the Aces in their third game in three days but wavered at endgame and needed Gahol’s heroics to oust the Aces and gain the right to challenge the San Miguel Beermen in the Gran Matador PBA Fiesta Cup Final Four.
Red Bull had lost a six-point lead, 84-78, and was on the brink of disaster when Gahol came to the Barakos’ rescue with that killer trey with time down to 3.3 seconds.
After a quick Alaska timeout, the Barakos wrapped it all up as Mike Cortez committed a traveling violation in their final possession in the closing seconds.
"It’s a miracle. To me, it’s unbelievable because we’re trying to get the ball on Earl Barron’s hand.
Brian just got open," said coach Yeng Guiao as his fierce-fighting Red Bull squad booked the last seat in the Final Four, joining early qualifiers Talk n Text, San Miguel Beer and Shell.
The two best-of-five semifinal showdowns begin Sunday in the same venue with the Phone Pals and the Turbochargers clashing at 4:15 p.m. The Barakos and the Beermen collide at 6:35 p.m.
"We’ve been having a great rivalry with San Miguel.
They will be a big challenge that I think we have a job cut out for us," said Guiao.
The fiery Red Bull mentor thought they would be at a disadvantage versus San Miguel, having to go through a "killer sked" in the quarterfinals. The Beermen gained automatic entry into the semis by finishing second in the double-round classifications.
Guiao lauded Gahol on his game-winning shot but gave as much credit on import Earl Barron who exploded for a personal conference high 39 points that went with 18 rebounds, four assists and one block.
"Earl just carried us on his shoulder all night long," said Guiao.
As expected, the two teams both came out smoking, disallowing one another to pull away in the first 24 minutes of play.
Barron buckled down to work early, making 21 points and nine rebounds in the first half, but the Aces fought as one solid unit as the Barakos just held a 43-41 edge at the half.
The Barakos sat on a 26-21 cushion early on while converting a high 63 percent of their field goal shots in the first quarter. The Aces, meanwhile, hit at a 45-percent clip.
Brandon Cablay started the second quarter with a booming triple, sparking a 10-1 run that had the Aces surging ahead at 31-27.
The fierce first-half battle was marked by eight deadlocks and nine lead changes.
Eight more deadlocks and six lead changes ensued in the third quarter where action became rugged that it was marred by a flagrant foul by Enrico Villanueva on Mike Cortez.