MANILA, Philippines - Sweet-shooting swingman Sunday Salvacion and pesky guard Reed Juntilla joined forces to give Barako Bull a solid closing quarter en route to a 74-68 upset of Meralco in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Astrodome last night.
Salvacion and Juntilla starred in Barako’s decisive runs in the fourth quarter, carrying the team to its first win in seven games in two years in the Pasay City playing venue.
“We learned our lessons against Alaska. I told my players to be consistent on our defense and our offense will follow,” said Barako coach Junel Baculi.
That’s basically the story of the game as the Energy Boosters toughened up on defense and came through with clutch baskets behind Salvacion and Juntilla.
The two combined for all but four of the team’s 17-point production in the final quarter.
Salvacion, the team’s recent recruit from Barangay Ginebra, banged in three straight triples to spark a key 15-2 run that pushed the Energy Boosters ahead at 68-61.
Juntilla took over in the crunch, putting in six points in the final 37.5 seconds to scuttle Meralco’s comeback bid.
Barako, the worst performing team in the league in the last two seasons, tied Meralco at 1-1. The Energy Boosters bowed to the Aces, 64-88, Friday while the Bolts nipped the Ginebra Kings, 73-72, in last week’s inaugurals.
Salvacion went 5-of-6 from the three-point area and finished with a game-high 21 points that went with five rebounds while Juntilla wound up with 11 points.
Rookie Hans Thiele also proved to be a big revelation, coming away with 13 rebounds, eight points and four assists.
Macmac Cardona sizzled with 14 points in the first half but faltered in the final 24 minutes of play.
Meralco eventually lost the game as Cardona missed a turnaround shot then John Weinstein sent Juntilla to the foul line that made it, 72-68, for Barako with 13 seconds left in the contest.
Jimmy Alapag scattered 27 points while Harvey Carey and Kelly Williams added double-double numbers as Talk n Text ripped San Miguel Beer, 97-83, in the second game to seize the early solo lead in the tourney with a 2-0 win-loss card.
San Miguel slid to joint third with Barako, Meralco, Ginebra and Powerade at 1-1.