AIR21 HANDS COKE FIRST DEFEAT; MAGNOLIA BEATS PHONEPALS

AIR21 HANDS COKE FIRST DEFEAT; MAGNOLIA BEATS PHONEPALS

dennis PRINCIPE

Sunday, 13 April 2008

THE Air21 Express relied on their vaunted defense in beating Coca-Cola Tigers, 102-95 in Sunday night’s Smart-PBA Fiesta Conference elimination round schedule at the Araneta Coliseum. Heads-up plays by local players Wynne Arboleda and Arwind Santos along with few but crucial plays from veteran Homer Se in the closing minutes gave the win for the Express who are mourning with the demise of the father of Air21 president and team manager Lito Alvarez. Alvarez’ father Aquilino died last Friday at age 84. Second import George Gervin, Jr. nearly had a decent debut for Coke but committed critical errors that led to Tigers’ downfall. After connecting a three-pointer with nearly three minutes remaining in the game and draw near the Express, 93-87, Gervin fumbled a pass to fellow American reinforcement Jason Dixon. That error gave the Express an already uncontested fast break but Gervin committed another blunder as he fouled an already airborne Santos who scored a basket. Though Santos missed the bonus shot, the situation gave Air21 the momentum they needed to seal the victory. Santos finished with 21 points, 10 in the final period while Arboleda added 17 points, 11 in the fourth period. Se also had 17 points and one undergoal stab in the dying minutes of the game. Gervin topscored for the Tigers with 26 points aside from issuing six assists but his lean frame may well be the chink in his armor, a factor that could make Tigers coach Binky Favis consider other available reinforcements. Dixon could only contribute 16 points, way below his conference average of 30.7 points. The only positive note on Coke’s game was the 1,000 career offensive rebounds achieved by Mark Telan. Air21 zoomed to a 24-9 lead late in the first quarter on a left-handed lay-up by rookie Doug Kramer. But Gervin, who planed in last week but had to sit out one game, led an 8-1 rally where he scored four points in ending the first quarter cutting the Express lead, 25-17. Gervin sat out the Tigers 98-96 win over Welcoat as he was said to be coming off a 20-hour trip. Like what happened in the first 12 minutes of action Air21 had a good start in the second quarter as they established a 38-27 lead under eight minutes to play. Gervin had another decent quarter as he poured in six points an issued three assists to again come in close for most part of the quarter capped by a buzzer beating three point shot from the right quarter court by rookie Ronjay Buenafe to end the second canto, 48-41. The Express snapped their back-to-back losses with the win and now have a 2-2 win-loss slate. After starting the conference with a 105-96 win over the Welcoat Dragons, Air21 dropped a 102-92 game against Red Bull last April 4 and a 102-94 loss to Purefoods last Wednesday. Air21 continues to rely on their defense as their most potent weapon as they have scored their last two wins in limiting their opponent to no more than 100 points. Last conference the Express where 5-1 in checking their foes below the century mark. Meanwhile in the second game Magnolia notched their second straight win by defeating Talk 'N Text Phonepals, 91-86. The Scores Air 21 102 -- Thomas 25, Santos 21, Se 17, Arboleda 17, De Ocampo 10, Canaleta 8, Kramer 2, Cruz 2, Sotto 0. Coke 95 -- Gervin 26, Dixon 16, Buenafe 11, Macapagal 10, Taulava 9, Belasco 8, Catli 6, Cabagnot 6, Telan 3. Quarterscores: 25-17, 48-41, 67-65, 102-95. Second Game Magnolia 91 -- Seigle 18, Hontiveros 17, Watkins 14, Villanueva 11, Pingris 10, Cortez 7, Ildefonso 7, Racela 4, Pena 3, Tugade 0. Talk N' Text 86 -- McGhee 22, Allado 15, Washington 13, Cardona 10, Alapag 8, Ritualo 8, De Ocampo 5, Ferreria 2, Peek 2, Carey 1, Chia 0, Belano 0. Quarterscores: 24-24, 49-41, 71-63, 91-86. Source: http://www.sportsnews.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=676&Itemid=1