BALANGA, Bataan — Kerby Raymundo took a bad fall late in the third quarter but Purefoods gallantly stood its ground to the finish, repulsing Red Bull Barako, 81-78, late Saturday to gain a piece of second place with San Miguel Beer in the Gran Matador Fiesta Conference at the Bataan People’s Center here.
Initially, the entire Purefoods team felt the pain of Raymundo’s fall that hurt his right knee and caused his exit with just 21 minutes into the game. The proud son of this province was rushed to the nearby Isaac Catalina Medical Center.
But the Hotdogs kept their poise and composure under gnawing pressure at crunch time, banking on key free throws by Jun Limpot and Rey Evangelista to complete the win that drew them level with the Beermen at second place with identical 3-1 win-loss records.
Red Bull suffered a second loss in four starts ironically on the eve of coach Yeng Guiao’s birthday.
The Thunder had a chance to force an overtime play but Dalron Johnson missed an open three-point shot in the closing seconds.
Paul Artadi pulled down the crucial rebound and wisely dribbled the time away until he was fouled by Cyrus Baguio at the buzzer. The former UE ace guard missed his both charities.
But Artadi had one free throw that helped cushion the impact of Red Bull’s searing charge in the final stretch.
From a 49-64 deficit early in the fourth quarter, the Thunder charged to within one at 75-76 on a torrid attack presided over by Johnson and Enrico Villanueva.
But the Hotdogs were unfazed, going to Limpot and Evangelista for the important charities to beat the Thunder just the same.
