JAMES PENNY turned in the money in the second half to lead the Red Bull Barako past the Alaska Aces, 100-92, yesterday at the start of the San Mig Coffee 2005-06 PBA Fiesta Conference quarterfinals at the Araneta Coliseum.

He scattered 16 of his 24 points in the second half. His five straight points at the backstretch of the fourth period sparked a 7-0 run that pushed their lead to 11 at 88-77.

"I think we made the right decision. We’re kind of worried before the game on how he’s going to fare," Red Bull Coach Yeng Guiao said. "He’s not as big a scorer as Quemont Greer but his chemistry with other players is better."

It was very much reflected in the stats as four Red Bull locals accounted for at least 10 points led by Lordy Tugade’s 22. Tugade, by the way, was the only local averaging in twin-figures for the Barakos with Greer as their reinforcement.

The Barakos and the Aces will meet again today in Game 2 of their best-of-five series at 6:35 p.m., also at the Araneta Coliseum.

The short time to prepare and make adjustments augurs well for them according to Guiao.

"They may know how Penny plays but they will have little time to figure out the other things that went wrong for them."

Penny started to heat up the third, accounting for nine points as the Barakos took a 73-69 lead heading into the payoff period.

While Penny’s hitting the money, Odell Bradley was busy picking up fouls. The Alaska import was assessed his fifth foul in the four-minute mark of the third.

With Tugade scoring nine points, the Barakos raced to a 24-14 lead in the first quarter. The Aces turned the ball over seven times on that stretch, leading to 11 turnover points for the Barakos.