Jojo Duncil upstaged former teammate Junthy Valenzuela as Red Bull edged Ginebra, 86-82, last night in the Smart PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.
Valenzuela played his first game against Red Bull since being traded to Ginebra, and waxed hot with 15 points, spiced with three booming triples in the final quarter.
But Duncil, who has taken over Valenzuela’s spot at Red Bull, had better things in mind. He had 13 of his 18 points in the third quarter and a crucial charity down the stretch.
“He is what we want in a player. He’s humble, he plays hard, he’s got the skills and the heart,” said Red Bull coach Yeng Guiao of his guard from Apalit, Pampanga.
Duncil’s heroics were enough to get Red Bull out of a three-game slump, and helped improve the team’s record to 8-5.
Red Bull’s Mexican import Adam Parada dished out a solid performance with 20 points, 23 rebounds, five assists, four blocks and a steal.
Duncil caught fire in the third quarter where Red Bull turned a slim 41-37 lead at the half into a 72-58 advantage.
Ginebra reinforcement Chris Alexander put up big numbers on the board, 27 points and 29 boards, but still failed to carry the Kings to victory.
Ginebra missed the services of Mark Caguioa, who sprained an ankle in the second quarter of their 87-76 win over the Magnolia Beverage Masters Wednesday.
The Kings took their eighth loss in 12 games.
“Junthy (Valenzuela) made it hard for us. He played a great game. But we’re also lucky Mark Caguioa didn’t play,” said Guiao.
Ginebra dominated the boards, 71-53, but was terrible from the stripe, missing 18 of its 30 tries. Alexander missed 10 charities.
The Kings also turned the ball 28 times. resulting to 25 points for the Bulls.