Games today:
(Araneta Coliseum)
4:30 p.m.- Ginebra vs. Red Bull
6:50 p.m.- Air 21 vs. Sta. Lucia

The Magnolia Beverage Masters bucked the absence of injured star players Dondon Hontiveros and Danny Seigle and pulled off an 84-82 squeaker against the Talk ?n Text Phone Pals in yesterday?s PBA Fiest Cup road game at the Puerto Princesa Sports Complex.

Minus Seigle and Hontiveros, the sweet-shooting Lordy Tugade carried much of the load as he helped the Beverage Masters erase an 18-point second quarter deficit and lead the team to its sixth win in twelve games.

Tugade piled up a personal conference-high of 29 points and capped his heroics by making the marginal basket in the final 1.9 seconds.

Tied at 82-all with only 4.8 seconds left, Tugade took advantage of the solid pick set up by the wide-bodied Jameel Watkins, sliding underneath the basket to catch the inbounds pass of Wesley Gonzales before converting the game-winning layup.

The Pals bungled their chance to win the game when Aaron Mc Ghee missed a potential game-winning triple as time ran out.

Tugade went six-for-12 from the three-point land, making three in the pivotal fourth.

Tugade scored 21 of his total output in the second half.

It was the third straight defeat for the Pals, who, at one point in the conference, sat on top of the standings.

Meanwhile, the soaring Ginebra Gin Kings look to extend their winning run to four when they face the struggling Red Bull Barakos in the first game of today's double-header at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Kings, who sport a 4-7 (win-loss) slate, are the second hottest team in the league next to the Alaska Aces as they have won their last three games.

The Aces are on a four-game winning streak?the longest in the conference so far.

While the Kings are on a roll, the Barakos are on a slump after losing their last three games?the first time in two years that they tasted a three-game slide.

Red Bull shares the second and third spots with the Air21 Express at 7-5.

The Express play the Sta. Lucia Realtors in the main game. Correspondent Calvin D. Cordova