Yes, yes Yeo: Ginebra wins 3rd straight against Barako Bull

MANILA: There’s a new man at Barangay Ginebra, and he’s not the beanpole type.
Veteran swingman Joseph Yeo again came to the Gin Kings’ rescue on Wednesday night, dropping a barrage of triples in the fourth quarter that keyed Barangay Ginebra’s third straight win against Barako Bull in the PBA Philippine Cup pulling away.
Signed at the start of the season from disbanded Air21, Yeo rifled in four of his five three-pointers in the payoff frame as the Kings scooted away for a 94-7 5 victory to again grab solo second place in the elimination round at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
Ginebra started out with a whimper, trailing the winless Energy by as many as 13 points in the first half before showing some signs of life late in the third period and ultimately improving to 5-1.
Yeo, like he did several nights back against defending champion Purefoods, then took over in the fourth period as his triples broke the game wide open and made it look like Ginebra played with so much control the entire night.
“Good thing that Joseph Yeo is with us (now),” Ginebra coach Jeffrey Cariaso said. “When you have guys playing for each other, a lot of things can happen. His (Yeo’s) teammates were looking for him in the fourth quarter.”
Barako Bull looked – at least for the first two-and-a-half quarters – like it was ready to pull out a man-sized upset, playing with command for a 53-44 lead going into the last six minutes of the third canto.
Rookie Rodney Brondial and sophomore high-flier Chris Ellis then hit some big buckets as Ginebra slowly crept back into the game and actually took a 64-61 lead into the fourth period.
The Gin Kings’ defense also helped a lot, silencing Barako Bull’s guns for the first 2:30 of the fourth for a 75-61 lead after one of those Yeo treys.
Yeo then had two more conversions and they sealed the Energy’s doom, 85-64 going into the final 5:34.
“it was very difficult for us, I thought, especially in the first two quarters and a half,” Cariaso said. “I think they had us scouted very well and knew everything that we wanted to do.
“I’m just happy that my guys played through that hardship, because it strengthens our character,” said Cariaso.
Yeo finished with 17 points – the same output he had against Purefoods – with Mark Caguioa shooting 15 and Greg Slaughter 14 that went with eight rebounds, four assists and a block.
Mac Baracael and Japeth Aguilar combined for another 22 points for the Kings, whose only loss came at the hands of the league-leading and undefeated Alaska Aces two weeks ago.
Denok Miranda paced the Energy with 19 points with RR Garcia and JC Intal shooting 10 points each. Barako Bull dropped a fifth straight outing.
Meanwhile, Rain or Shine upped its record to 4-2 with a third straight victory earlier after fending off Globalport in an interesting endgame that saw the Elasto Painters miss five free throws inside the final three minutes.
Jeff Chan scored 11 fourth quarter points and helped the Elasto Painters carve out an 86-83 win over the Batang Pier, who played what could be their best game of the young season only to fall short.
Chan had a missed charity and Beau Belga muffed four straight which, according to coach Yeng Guiao, made life harder for his Painters in the endgame.
Rain or Shine shot just 38% from the field and 61% from the free throw line, awful percentages which the Batang Pier exploited.
“We made life difficult for ourselves by missing those free throws,” Guiao said. “And I thought Globalport really pushed us.”