Red Bull, Express no longer underdogs; it’s anybody’s game

In a snap of the finger, they’re now being mentioned in the same breath as the Kings, the Pals and the Beermen.

Goaded by their surprising finish the last time, Red Bull, Purefoods and Air21 have suddenly found themselves on the same level as defending champion Ginebra, Talk ‘N Text and San Miguel that easily turns the coming PBA All-Filipino Cup a wide-open race.

Overlooked by many prior to the start of the import-laden Fiesta Cup, the Bulls and Giants exceeded the expectations of many by marching all the way to the best-of-seven Finals, which the Photokina franchise won in six tightly-fought games.

The Express, on the other hand, ousted deposed champion Beermen and the Pals one after the other before beating the Kings in a sudden-death to bag third place overall, their highest finish ever since entering the league in 2002.

That alone — not to mention the couple of trades all three of them exercised during the mid-season — makes them among the teams to watch in the season-ending conference.

"I think we’re a better team right now. Our confidence level is high since we’re able to prove that we can compete against the best," admitted Red Bull mentor Yeng Guiao.

The Bulls got even better at the middle by acquiring 2004 Rookie of the Year Rich Alvarez from Alaska in exchange for the team’s first round picks in the 2006 and 2007 Rookie Drafts.

The acquisition of the do-it-all, 6-foot-4 Alvarez reunites him at Red Bull with former college teammates Enrico Villanueva, Larry Fonacier and Paolo Bugia, all of whom were major players in Ateneo’s successful title campaign in the 2002 UAAP men’s basketball season.

"He’s worth giving up our first picks in the 2006 and 2007 drafts," said Guaio.

With Alvarez on board, the Bulls are now looking at the possibility of winning a PBA championship for the second straight time.

"We now have a chance to go for a double championship and we’ll surely go for it," said team manager Tony Chua.

The Express are also on the same page as the Bulls, having taken veteran forward Mark Telan from Talk ‘N Text for John Ferriols. They later on traded guard Wesley Gonzales and big man Homer Se in a three-team trade that involved San Miguel and Purefoods.

After Air21’s third place finish, coach Bo Perasol said there’s nothing to go for his team but up.

"Anything less than a Finals stint would be a setback. Hindi na kami kuntento sa respectable finish ngayon," said the youthful coach. "I am telling the players that we should set a higher goal. Hindi kako puwedeng paurong kami."

Its weak frontcourt exposed during the Fiesta Cup Finals following the injury to rookie Jondan Salvador, Purefoods acquired the 6-foot-5 Se and Eugene Tejada from Air21 for the Giants’ second round pick in the next Draft.

"We came short (in the Fiesta Cup), but we’re now looking forward to the next journey," said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio.

Like the Giants, also looking ahead are the Pals, Kings and Beermen - three teams heavily favored to emerge champions in the last conference but neither one of them failed to reach the Finals.

The Kings are parading practically the same roster that beat the Pals in last year’s All-Filipino Finals while the Beermen added youth and zest to their ageing lineup by inserting Gonzales and Brandon Cablay, obtained in a trade with Alaska for Nic Belasco, to the San Miguel equation.

Of the three, the Pals tinkered the most with their cast.

Not only did the franchise shipped away Telan and had Ferriols and old hand Poch Juinio coming aboard, it also changed coaches in mid-stream by tapping erstwhile consultant Derrick Pumaren in place of Joel Banal.

Pumaren, returning for a second tour of duty with Talk ‘N Text, is once again putting premium on defense as the Pals’ bread-and-butter for the tournament that starts on March 5 at the Araneta Coliseum.

"Offense is not a problem to this team. I believe defense ang magdadala sa amin," said Pumaren.

Alaska gave up Alvarez and Cablay but got Belasco in return before signing up free agent Rensy Bajar as back up at the point.

While the Aces remain a talented and very dangerous team as they’ve shown in the past, it remains to be seen how this new batch will mesh together playing under Tim Cone’s famed Triangle Offense.

Going the same route as Ginebra, Coca-Cola and Sta. Lucia haven’t made any significant move to shake up their respective rosters. Everything else are actually silent on the Realtors and Tigers camps.

But behold, silent river runs deep as the saying goes.