MANILA, Philippines—Air21 tore Coca-Cola’s zone apart with a barrage of three-pointers early in the last quarter and went on to score a convincing 102-95 victory Sunday night in the Smart-Philippine Basketball Association Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Wynne Arboleda, Arwind Santos and Ranidel De Ocampo combined for six triples in a seven-minute span that boosted the Express out front and eventually tamed the Tigers, who absorbed their first defeat in four games.
Arboleda, Santos and import Steven Thomas finished with double-double figures as Air21 picked up their second win in four games while handing the solo lead to idle Sta. Lucia Realty.
“We took advantage of that opening and luckily our shots went in,” said Air21 coach Bo Perasol, referring to the three-point splurge that shoved the Express comfortably ahead, 91-78, with barely four minutes remaining.
Perasol also credited the victory to quick ball movement that saw the Express issue a total of 29 assists, a far cry from their conference-worst average of 17 assists the past three games.
“We got to move the ball better than the previous games,” said Perasol.
Thomas banged in 25 points after going 10 of 17 from the field on top of 15 rebounds, three assists, one block and a steal that negated the combined efforts of Coca-Cola's Jason Dixon and George Gervin Jr.
From his usual 30-point output, the 6-foot-9 Dixon contributed only 16 points and 11 rebounds this time even as Gervin, son of NBA great George “The Iceman” Gervin Sr., had an impressive debut with 26 points, six assists and three steals.
Arboleda buried three consecutive triples, Santos added two more and De Ocampo capped the outburst with a trey of his own before Coca-Cola coach Binky Favis abandoned the zone.
But the damage was done, however.
Coca-Cola's defeat took the luster out of Mark Telan's barging into the record books as the 34th member of the elite 1,000 offensive rebounds club.
Santos, who muffed his first seven attempts before finally scoring on a two-hand slam over Asi Taulava in the second quarter, wound up with 21 points and 14 rebounds for the Express, who limited their opponents below 100 points in the previous six victories.
Aside from hounding the 6-foot-1 Gervin all night, Arboleda also came up with 17 points, 11 assists, five rebounds and a steal while Homer Se contributed 17 points and nine rebounds.
Dixon closed the third period with a putback, 65-67, to keep the Tigers within striking distance. But four consecutive three-pointers by the Express at the start of the last quarter lifted Air21 out front for good.
The scores:
AIR21 102— Thomas 25, Santos 21, Se 17, Arboleda 17, De Ocampo 10, Canaleta 8, Kramer 2, Cruz 2, Sotto 0.
COCA-COLA 95—Gervin 26, Dixon 16, Buenafe 11, Macapagal 10, Taulava 9, Belasco 8, Catli 6, Cabagnot 6, Telan 3.
Quarters: 25-17, 48-41, 67-65, 102-95
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