The Kings’ 7-foot import Alexander continued to outfox his Red Bull counterpart to finish with 20 points and 18 rebounds. He also had three assists and a pair of blocked shots in 40 minutes to boost his finals bid.

The 7-foot Parada produced decent numbers of 16 points and 10 boards compared to his six points and eight rebounds in Game One.

Still, those numbers were not enough to power the Bulls.

The locals of Ginebra also stepped up bit time as playmaker Jayjay Helterbrand contributed 27 points, four rebounds and nine assists, while Mark Caguioa came off the bench to add 24 points.

The win extended the Kings’ streak to 10, and won 13 of their last 16 since Alexander’s arrival as their third import after Rashon Turner and Earnest Brown.

But even with a 2-0 lead, Ginebra mentor Jong Uichico knows that the series is not over yet, saying that Red Bull has what it takes to make a comeback in this series.

"Alam natin ang character ng Red Bull," Uichico said. "It doesn’t matter kung kaya nila (to comeback) but their character is that they play 100 percent every game. For us, maski we’re up 2-0, dapat we’ll have that same 100 percent effort every game."

"Until we get to four (wins) di ako makapagsabi na tapos na, because I had the same experience last year," added Uichico.

The former national mentor was referring to last season’s Philippine Cup Finals against his former team, San Miguel Beer, when they came back from a 0-2 deficit to win the title.

"I’m just saying that the possibility could happen. It’s always there. So our framework of mind is to get to four (wins)," he said.

The Kings go for a commanding 3-0 lead in Game Three tomorrow at the Ynares Sports Center in Antpolo City.

Nevertheless, Uichico credited the effort of his players, not letting their guards down after winning the series opener (108-82) as they matched the intensity of the Bulls from start to finish.

"This game was different from the first game," he said. "Natangal ang rustiness ng Red Bull, and they came out very aggressive. Buti nakalusot kami."

The Kings were only up by six, 55-49, at halftime after shooting 21-of-45 or 46.7 percent from the field, while the Bulls made 16-of-36 or 44.4 percent.

Rookie guard Reed Juntilla, who was signed by Red Bull late in the elimination phase, scored 12 of his 16 points in the first two periods, matching the first half output of forward Leomar Najorda.

But in the third frame, the Kings started to take control of the game as Helterbrand scored 19 points and helped his team grab a 94-83 advantage entering the final frame.

Caguioa’s pair of free throws put Ginebra ahead by 15, 104-83, with 8:54 left in the game. The closest Red Bull got was at 104-111 with 1:31 to play.

The Bulls were led by Cyrus Baguo, who scored a career-high 34 points, erasing his previous best of 31 points in a 107-104 win against Magnolia Beverage n Game One of the Philippine Cup quarterfinals last January 23.

Ginebra finished shooting 42-of-93 or 45.2 percent from the field while Red Bull made 36-of-81 or 44.4 percent. Ginebra also controlled the boards, 61-43.

The scores:

GINEBRA 111 – Helterbrand 27, Caguioa 24, Alexander 20, Artadi 9, Reavis 8, Mamaril 7, Valenzuela 6, Salvacion 5, Menk 3, Pacana 2, Crisano 0.

RED BULL 104 – Baguio 24, Juntilla 16, Parada 16, Najorda 16, Cruz 7, Hrabak 7, Duncil 5, Adriano 3, Alvarez 0, Pennisi 0.

Quarters: 25-24, 55-49, 94-83, 111-104.