Filipino, the Barangay Ginebra Kings showed true grit to stun the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 94-89, Friday night in the 2009 Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum. Veteran center Erik Menk came out of sick bay to power the Kings' frontline, topscoring with 24 points. He also had nine rebounds in 26 minutes of action. The win was the second straight and third overall for the Kings who improved to 3-5, good for seventh place in the standings. Their fourth loss in nine games dropped the Painters to third place behind idle Sta. Lucia (5-3) and San Miguel (7-0). In the second game, Willie Miller once again wove his magic in the final seconds of the game to help the Alaska Aces repulse a late charge by the Barako Bull Energy Boosters for a 100-90 Alaska win. Miller scored nine of his game-high 28 points in the last six and a half minutes of the game, including six straight points as the Aces ended a three-game losing streak. Alaska now sports a 3-6 win-loss record, two rungs higher than the last two teams in the standings. The E-Boosters fell to 2-6 and are now at the bottom of the heap. Surprisingly, Tim Cone didn't include Miller in his starting five – only the second time in 40 games that Miller came off the bench. But when he did so, the fiery guard quickly showed his prowess, making 12 of 19 shots including 3-of-7 from behind the arc. He likewise grabbed six rebounds, whipped up four assists and had two steals in 35 minutes of action. Meanwhile, Burger King's Cyrus Baguio and Celino Cruz finally got their wishes to find a new team. After a marathon meeting Friday night, the Barangay Ginebra Kings took the high-leaping Baguio while the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants finally found a quality point guard in Cruz. Baguio's entry into the Kings' lineup is expected to rejuvenate the squad which has been badly missing the services of its top gunner Mark Caguioa who is still recovering from a knee injury. With Baguio, the Kings will now have a big guard who can slash through the lane either to score or whip up a pass to Jayjay Helterbrand or Ronald Tubid. Aside from Baguio, Ginebra also took in Homer Se, a hard-fighting center from Burger King. In exchange, the Whoppers got two more future picks and hardworking forward Aaron Aban, who was plucked from Purefoods in a deal that sent Cruz to the Giants. The Purefoods management said Cruz will be huge asset for the team. Bolstering the Giants' backcourt manned by Topex Robinson, and veteran guard Roger Yap. Scores: Alaska 100 - Miller 28, Ellis 20, Cariaso 16, Tenorio 11, Borboran 7, Thoss 7, Ferriols 7, De Vance 2, Fonacier 2, Hugnatan 0, Cablay 0. Barako Bull 90 - Arigo 25, Varem 13, Espinas 13, Juntilla 12, Najorda 10, Sharma 6, Hubalde 5, Rodriguez 4, Chan 2, Duncil 0, Hrabak 0, Crisano 0. Quarters: 22-22, 50-45, 73-65, 100
