New-look Barako Coffee stuns Sta. Lucia

Barako Coffee made sure everybody took notice right on opening day of the KFC-PBA Fiesta Cup. Sammy Monroe showed how prolific a scorer he is by exploding for 39 points and powering the Coffee Masters to a 97-93 upset of the Sta. Lucia Realtors in the curtain-raiser ushering the import-laden conference at the Araneta Coliseum Sunday.

Monroe, who had stint in Mexico prior to signing up with Barako Coffee, was 13-of-24 from the field and also had 12 rebounds, while making two big free throws that shattered the game’s final deadlock and put the Coffee Makers on top for good, 90-88. New recruit Al Vergara then preserved the stunning win by nailing back-to-back crucial jumpers in the final 85 seconds that put the fight out of the rallying Realtors. “We just won the first game. There are 17 games more and it’s still a long way to go," said Junel Baculi of his debut win as PBA coach. “We have to work our way up because we wanted to get out of the rut," added the new mentor of Barako Coffee, which finished at the bottom of the standings in the last three conferences. Leo Najorda, one of the few remnants of Barako Coffee’s predecessor – Red Bull – added 12 markers while Vergara, who previously suited up for Purefoods and later, with the Singapore Slingers in the Asean Basketball League (ABL), had eight along with Rob Wainwright and Rob Reyes. Veteran import Anthony Johnson exploded for 41 points and collected 13 rebounds for the Realtors, who fought back from an 11-point deficit in the final 5:20 to tie the game at 88 with 2:32 left. Gabby Espinas added 14 points and nine rebounds, while Ryan Reyes contributed 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists for Sta. Lucia, which had new faces in Bonbon Custodio, the player the ball club got for trading Joseph Yeo to San Miguel, and Don Belano. Kelly Williams was limited to just six points on 3-of-8 shooting, but came through with the game’s highlight reel play with a left-handed, follow-up dunk off a missed shot in the waning seconds of the third period for a 76-68 count. - GMANews.TV