Two huge upsets rocked the KFC PBA Philippine Cup Friday night, with the Red Bull Barakos downing the Air21 Express, 98-88, and the Coca-Cola Tigers mauling the San Miguel Beermen, 105-91. Cellar-dwellers Red Bull (5-11) and Coca-Cola (6-10) are battling for the last slot in the wildcard round of the conference and their respective wins further intensified the two teams bid to avoid elimination. Red Bull played a balanced offense with seven Barakos scoring double-digit numbers led by Carlo Sharma who knocked in a career-high 22 points. It was the second straight victory for the Barakos who overwhelmed the league-leading Alaska Aces, 100-80, last Wednesday. As in their game against the Aces, the Barakos caught fire early in the game and stayed hot until the final buzzer. Down by 16 points, the Express staged a rally in the final quarter but fell short as it fell to joint fifth place in the standings together with the idle Sta. Lucia Realtors at 8-8. Red Bull won despite the absence of Mike Holper and the knee injury suffered by Homer Se in the first quarter, forcing the latter to sit out the remainder of the game. Cyrus Baguio scored 15 crucial points, including nine in the fourth quarter to seal the Red Bull victory. Larry Rodriguez, Jojo Duncil, Paolo Hubalde, Jeff Chan and Gabby Espinas were the other Barakos who finished in double figures. Ranidel de Ocampo led Air21 with 21 points, nine rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks. In the first game of the double-header played at the Araneta Coliseum, Nic Belasco set two personal conference records with his 23 points and 15 rebounds to lead Coca-Cola to a rousing win against San Miguel. The Tigers victory was all the more shocking since it was achieved despite the absence of their top scorer and rebounder Asi Taulava who was nursing a fractured left middle finger. The 6'9'' Coca-Cola center suffered the injury during his teams losing game against the Talk N Text Tropang Texters last Dec. 7. Team officials said the injury may sideline Taulava from six to eight weeks. San Miguel was ahead by 11 points in the first half but inexplicably lost their bearings in the fourth quarter as Belasco ignited a 10-0 run after the game was tied for the last time at 87-all. The loss dropped the Beermen to joint third place together with idle Rain or Shine, both with a 9-7 win-loss slate. Jay Washington scored a personal conference-high 25 points and 13 rebounds, but his individual efforts went down the drain as the Beermen fell victim to the hungry Tigers. Coca-Cola 105 - Belasco 23, Buenafe 18, Macapagal 16, Calimag 9, Dimaunahan 9, Telan 9, Arigo 7, Santos 6, Rizada 4, Cabagnot 4, Misolas 0. San Miguel Beer 91 - Washington 25, Tugade 21, Hontiveros 18, Baguion 7, Bono 6, Villanueva 5, Gonzales 4, Racela 3, Custodio 2, Eman 0, Pennisi 0. Quarters: 23-24, 49-55, 77-73, 105-91. Red Bull 98 - Sharma 22, Baguio 15, Rodriguez 14, Duncil 13, Hubalde 11, Chan 10, Espinas 10, Najorda 2, Cruz 1, Ybanez 0, Hrabak 0. Air21 88 - De Ocampo 21, David 17, Intal 13, Santos 13, Canaleta 11, Arboleda 5, Kramer 2, Cruz 2, Billones 2, Se 2. Quarters: 30-26, 54-46, 72-67, 98
