Red Bull mentality according to Yeng Guiao

Perfect prediction or good foresight.

To Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao, this, in a nutshell, is the story of an organization, which has once again put together a brave bunch of players for a triumphant campaign in the San Mig Coffee PBA Fiesta Cup.

"It could only be a right prediction or foresight on our part that enabled us to win the championship," said Guiao moments after his Bulls beat the Purefoods Chunkee Giants for the Fiesta Cup crown before a mammoth crowd at the Araneta Coliseum Sunday night.

"We had the foresight and we rebuilt after losing some of the key guys from our previous champion team.

Winning the championship is the result of our rebuilding process," Guiao added.

The Bulls are a champion team again after crumbling from the ouster of Davonn Harp, Mick Pennisi and Jon Ordonio, then rising up again with the arrival of fresh recruits plus the return of Pennisi.

Indeed, the Red Bull management and coaching staff proved to have good foresight in coming up with a winning formula built around old mainstays Lordy Tugade, Junthy Valenzuela, Jimwell Torion and new recruits Enrico Villanueva, Cyrus Baguio, Larry Fonacier, Celino Cruz, Topex Robinson, Leo Najorda and Paolo Bugia.

"I’m really proud of this bunch. We don’t have a single ready-made superstar on this team. Lahat yan galing sa draft or free agent pool whom we developed and nurtured on our own system. Lahat nagkaroon ng what we call Red Bull mentality. We tried to equip them with the skills fit in our system and this is the result," said Guiao.

"We’re very happy with what has transpired. It proved we have a great organization," Guiao added.

Villanueva, Baguio and Fonacier have all turned out to be Red Bull’s huge steals from the Rookie Draft and Cruz and Robinson from the free agent pool.

Several teams passed up on Villanueva in the 2003 draft, enabling Red Bull to grab the former Ateneo Eagle with its rights for the seventh pick. No doubt, Villanueva has emerged as Red Bull’s main man.

Fonacier, on the other hand, wasn’t even picked in the first round but he’s now the leading contender for the Rookie of the Year award.

The Bulls never ran out of heroes as they hurdled the Giants for their first championship since winning the 2002 Commissioner’s Cup title.

Tugade and Villanueva played big almost the entire series, Fonacier and Valenzuela rose to the occasion in their crucial win in Game Five while Baguio and Pennisi delivered Sunday as the Bulls completed a 4-2 conquest of the Giants in their best-of-seven title showdown.

Cruz and Robinson manned the point guard spot with guts and cunning while James Penny proved up to the task against Purefoods’ explosive import Marquin Chandler.

"The depth and balance we have achieved in building up the team was also a key. One good thing about this team is on any given night, if Enrico or Lordy is having a bad game, there are other guys who can step up," said Guiao.

"Of course, Penny has to be given major portion of the credit. We made a crucial decision when we took him in to replace Quemont Greer in the playoffs — a big gamble at that point because Quemont was a great talent. What we’re looking for then was somebody who could make the locals look better. And James was it," Guiao also said.

"Nagkatugma-tugma. As I’ve said many times before, you would need some amount of luck to win a championship.

I will not claim all the credit for this championship because we’re blessed with great players committed with our philosophy," Guiao added.

With their Fiesta Cup championship, the Bulls have a chance to complete a twinkill in the season-ending All-Filipino, which starts March 5.

But Guiao said they want to savor this championship first before thinking about another matter.