Red Bull is an energy drink that is sold by Red Bull GmbH.[1] In 2006, more than 4 billion cans were sold in over 130 countries. Red Bull was inspired by an energy drink produced in Thailand that had been used for years by long-distance truckers, kick-boxers, students and others who wanted a boost. The founder of Red Bull created his own formula and flavor, and the company's main headquarters are located in Austria. The first can of Red Bull was sold in 1987. One of their most popular slogans is "Red Bull gives you wiiings!".
History
The franchise played their first PBA season as the Batang Red Bull Energy Kings. Red Bull was allowed to take six players from their PBL team and took Kerby Raymundo, Davonn Harp, Lordy Tugade, Jimwell Torion, Junthy Valenzuela and Bernard Tanpua. PBL Commissioner Yeng Guiao, a former PBA coach, resigned his post to join Red Bull as coach in the PBA. They also got Ato Agustin from the expansion pool.
After losing their opening game to Barangay Ginebra Kings, they won two more games to improve to 2-3. But, the league disqualified Raymundo from playing. It was discovered that he had falsified his documents, claiming he graduated from high school in 1996, when actually he finished his secondary studies a year later. Mick Pennisi also arrived as a solution to the team's lack of height. The games won by the Energy Kings were nullified. Red Bull finished 10th and failed to enter the quarterfinals.
In the Commissioners Cup, Jack Hartman became Red Bull's first import but failed to show anything promising for Batang Red Bull which failed to enter the quarters once again. Before the end of the tournament, the Energy Kings get Raymund Tutt as replacement. Tutt scored 56 points in his PBA debut, which still stands today as the high points scored by a Red Bull player in a single game.
Tutt returned for the Governors Cup, and the renamed Thunder made a strong showing to finish in third place at the end of the tournament, their first trophy in the league. Davonn Harp was named Rookie of the Year at the end of the season.
1. 3. 2001-2002: Championship years
During the Rookie Draft, Red Bull selected former Letran Knight and MBA star Willie Miller as its first overall pick. Former Letranite Kerby Raymundo also was allowed to return for Red Bull for the upcoming season.
In 2001, Red Bull finished seventh in the All-Filipino Conference and met eventual champion San Miguel Beermen in the quarterfinals. With the Thunder needing to win twice to advance to the semis, Batang Red Bull shocked the Beermen winning the first game by double-figures, but lost in the deciding game capped off by Danny Seigle's three-pointer to seal SMB's win.
In the Governors Cup, Tutt returned for the team in hopes of claiming back-to-back title, but the Thunder was eliminated in the quarterfinals.
Harp was loaned by Red Bull to the national team in 2002. The Thunder was eliminated by eventual champion Purefoods in the quarterfinals.
In the Commissioners Cup, Harp returned for Batang Red Bull along with Antonio Lang and Julius Nwosu. The Thunder dominated the tournament, eliminating Shell in the quarterfinals and the Beermen in the semis to face the Talk N' Text Phone Pals in the finals. Four games into the series, Lang was replaced by another NBA veteran in Sean Lampley. Lang was even accused of game-fixing, which he denied. With Lampley, Red Bull overcame a 2-3 deficit to win an emotional Game seven for their second PBA title.
Red Bull's hope for a second title was denied in the All-Filipino as
1. 4. 2003: Post-championship
In 2003, The Thunder used their first round pick to select 2002 UAAP MVP Enrico Villanueva from Ateneo de Manila to bolster Red Bull's frontline. Red Bull went 10-1 in the early goings of the All-Filipino Cup before finishing with a 14-4 record. However, their 0-3 record in the quarterfinals eliminated them from title contention. The All-Filipino also saw the suspensions of Harp and Torion for testing positive for taking illegal substances.
1. 5. 2004-05: Rebuilding
Red Bull made its third Finals appearance in 2004, losing to eventual champion Barangay Ginebra in the transitional tournament dubbed as the Fiesta Conference. The Barakos fielded in six imports during the said conference but its last import Victor Thomas won Best Import honors.
During the 2004-2005 Philippine Cup, Red Bull was decimated with the departures of alleged Fil-Shams (Filipino-Americans that did not prove their Filipino blood) Mick Pennisi and Davonn Harp, who were deported after the Department of Justice found them to have falsified their documents.
But the event paved the way for guys like Tugade, Valenzuela and Enrico Villanueva to shine as Red Bull recovered to place fourth in the 2005 Fiesta Cup. The former Ateneo center won the Most Improved Player honors.
1. 6. 2005-06: Back-to-back finals appearances
Red Bull became somewhat of a flashback to the Ateneo Blue Eagles squad of UAAP 2002 when Larry Fonacier and Paolo Bugia were drafted by the team in the second round of the PBA Draft in August.
The Bulls won their third PBA title during the 2005-06 PBA Fiesta Conference defeating the Purefoods Chunkee Giants in six games. Enrico Villanueva won the Best Player of the Conference honors while Lordy Tugade was named as the Finals MVP.
During their title run, the Bulls replaced import Quemont Greer in place of a more team-oriented James Penny at the start of the quarterfinals. Red Bull swept
The championship gave Yeng Guiao his fifth PBA title, tying former Toyota mentor Dante Silverio for sixth on the all-time PBA list.
Before the Philippine Cup, Red Bull acquired the services of another former Atenean, Rich Alvarez, from
Red Bull survived a five-game clash with rival Barangay Ginebra in the quarterfinals. This was after the crowd-favorite Kings led the series 2-1, but the Bulls won the last two games by a combined margin of more than 50 points. The Bulls faced the San Miguel Beermen in the semifinals when controversy struck the Bulls, after they staged a mini-walkout during Game Four of their series. They eventually returned to the court and lost by double figures. This led to a 400,000 peso fine on the team, 100,000 on head coach Yeng Guiao, 6,000 for player Lordy Tugade and 1,000 for a member of the team's personnel.
However, Red Bull managed to beat San Miguel Beer in seven games after a buzzer-beating shot by Junthy Valenzuela to seal a two-point victory for the Bulls, setting up a rematch of the Fiesta Conference finals series against Purefoods. The Bulls, though, lost to Purefoods in six games, denying them of a chance to sweep all championships in the 2005-06 season. Larry Fonacier was named as the 2005-06 PBA Rookie of the Year with Villanueva named to the Mythical Five selection.
1. 7. 2006-07 season: Semifinal eliminations
The Bulls had only one pick in the 2006 PBA Draft and selected Ateneo shooting guard Magnum Membrere with the 19th overall pick. The move triggered another addition to the team's dominant lineup of former players from the Blue Eagles lineup. In the middle of the elimination round, Red Bull traded 2005-2006 Fiesta Cup Finals MVP Lordy Tugade to the San Miguel Beermen alongside reserve Omanzie Rodriguez in exchange for future draft picks.
The Barakos also added former Shell Turbo Charger Carlo Sharma into their line-up during the off-season. The addition of Sharma gave the Barakos, who only has main man Enrico Villanueva as its legitimate low-post threat, additional ceiling and inside presence.
In the Philippine Cup, Red Bull placed third after the elimination round with a 11-7 win-loss card and an outright quarterfinals berth in which they defeated the Sta Lucia Realtors, 3-1. In the semifinals, Red Bull lost against the San Miguel in seven games that highlighted by several physical encounters by both teams during the series.
Red Bull gained the top seed in the Fiesta Conference but dealt Enrico Villanueva to San Miguel Beermen for Rommel Adducul. The former MBA MVP was later shipped to the Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants and exchange for Don Camaso and a 2008 Second Round Draft Pick.
Despite the strong performance of Larry Fonacier and the emergence of Cyrus Baguio, Red Bull lost to Talk 'N Text led by the strong performance of Mark Cardona in a six-game series.
1. 8. 2008-09 season: Failure and beginning again
1. 8. 1. Philippine Cup
Prior to this season, they lost Mick Pennisi who went to San Miguel Beermenand Topex Robinson who went to Purefoods TJ Giants and got rookies Larry Rodriguez, Jeffrei Chan, and Mark Cuevas. Disaster was booming around the franchise as they lost key players such as Rich Alvarez and Cyrus Baguio. But there are also some players who went to Red Bull and started a new beginning like Gabby Espinas from Air21 Express and Mike Holper from Barangay Ginebra Kings. But sad to say, they only won 5 out of 18 outings. Due to this, they were rumored to be disbanded as Yeng Guiao resigned as head coach during late December.
1. 8. 2. Fiesta Conference
A new name, a new coach, and a new spirit. That's what Barako Bull Energy Boosters is all about. Just recently, Leo Isaac was hired as its new coach with Gee Abanilla and Ariel Vanguardia as chief liutenants. The ones who chose Isaac's liutenats are team manager Andy Jao and RP-5 Women's coach Raymond Celis.
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