Raging Bulls battle well-rested Giants

A little over four months after clashing in the tourney’s opening game, Purefoods and Red Bull meet again in the closing matches of the San Mig Coffee PBA Fiesta Cup to dispute the coveted championship.

The Giants and the Bulls slug it out in a best-of-seven showdown beginning with Game One that is likely to draw a huge crowd at the Araneta Coliseum today.

Filipino boxing sensation Manny Pacquiao has been invited to do the ceremonial toss.

Barangay Ginebra and Air21 clash in a one-game playoff for second runner-up honors in the 4:40 p.m. curtain raiser.

Purefoods and Red Bull sustained their strong classification-round finish in the playoffs to make it all the way to the finals, setting up their first-ever battle for the crown.

Gaining outright seeding in the semifinals and needing only six games to finish off Air21, the Giants may well have the fresher legs going into the finals.

But Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao said they have been toughened up by what they have gone through in the playoffs, particularly their grueling and thrilling semifinals showdown with Barangay Ginebra. In fact, the Bulls hope the gut-wrenching series has given them the kind of confidence needed in their title showdown with the Giants.

Guiao, however, cautions his boys that the worst is far from over for them.

"Purefoods will give us a different challenge. While Ginebra is a post-oriented team, Purefoods is a mid-range operator. With Ginebra, we dealt with size. With Purefoods, we have to deal with its quickness and good perimeter shooting," said Guiao.

Guiao’s major concern is the fact that they only had one day to prepare for Game One. Guiao gave the team a day off Monday after beating the Kings the previous day.

"I believe playoff is always a defensive battle and it’s tough to reorient our defensive strategy in a day’s time," said Guiao.

Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio feels they have some edge in a sense that they don’t need to make major adjustments in their game as they’re up against a Red Bull squad quite similar to the Air21 team, which they bundled out in six games in the semis.

"They have many similarities. Ang hinahanap na lang namin kung sino ang pwede namin i-foul," said Gregorio recalling their ploy against the Express whose import Shawn Daniels struggled with his free throw shooting.

Actually, Gregorio doesn’t need to look that far. Red Bull’s import James Penny and ace local Enrico Villanueva are both poor free-throw shooters with below 60 percent clip. The entire Red Bull team is only 59-percent accurate from the stripe while Purefoods has 68.3 percent from the same area.

The two teams are about even in three-point shooting and in the two-point zone. Purefoods enjoys the edge in point production, rebounding and in blocks while Red Bull is better in assists and steals.

The Giants average 90.0 points, 53.3 rebounds, 16.1 assists, 6.2 steals and 5.0 blocks while the Bulls norm 86.6 points, 51.9 rebounds, 19.1 assists, 6.5 steals and 4.8 blocks.

Purefoods swept Red Bull in two games in the classification round but the latter was still reinforced by Quemont Greer then.

Although not as explosive as Greer, James Penny appeared to have blended well with the Bulls, who are 7-2 since the former Texas Christian U standout came aboard. The unassuming import held his own against Ginebra’s celebrated import Chris Porter in the semis.

Against the Giants, Penny will be up against Marquin Chandler, easily the yardstick among the reinforcements this conference and the top candidate for the Best Import award.

The 6-foot-4 Chandler, who came here straight out of the San Jose State Spartans, is one of only two original imports who stayed on with their respective teams and credited for guiding the Giants to their first finals appearance since the 2002 All-Filipino Conference. He averages 25 points and 13 rebounds.