FedEx pushes Ginebra against the wall

ANTIPOLO — Tim Moore and Bong Alvarez struck with clutch three-pointers in the closing second and Airfreight 2100/FedEx inched closer to the playoffs while sending Barangay Ginebra to the brink with a 79-78 thriller last night in the Samsung PBA Governors Cup at the Ynares Sports Center here.

The Express went without a basket for over five minutes at endgame but Moore and Alvarez broke the spell when the team needed it most – scoring from afar at that – enabling the league newcomer to overcome the league crowd darling in a closely-fought match.

Alvarez made the first trey to tie the count at 76-all with time down to 33 seconds. Then when Ginebra regained the upperhand at 78-76 on two free throws by Mark Caguioa, Moore came up with his own three-pointer to stake FedEx ahead, 79-78, with only five ticks left.

Completing the come-from-behind win with a decent defense in the closing seconds, the Express evened their win-loss record anew at 4-4. Another win could assure the team of a playoff crack at the quarterfinals.

The Kings, meanwhile, rejoined the Shell Turbo Chargers in the cellar. Brian Green’s huge numbers in his return stint with the team went for naught as they suffered a sixth loss in seven outings.

It was a sorry loss for the Kings who led by as many as 14 points only to self-destruct in the fourth quarter. The Kings appeared to lose the momentum as acting coach Chris Callilan seemed to over-extend Green’s rest in the payoff quarter.

Returning to the floor with seven minutes left to play, Green never scored again after hitting 26 points in the first three quarters of play. He went 0-of-5 from the floor.

Talk N Text made it five in a row and enhanced its bid for the Magic Four as it repulsed RP Selecta, 83-76 in the second game.

And the Express pounded the Kings’ sudden lost of firepower, going to Alvarez, Wynne Arboleda, Jarmained Walker and Moore as they surged ufront at 73-70.

But the Kings stopped the Express run and wheeled back into the fight, 76-73, on a 6-0 binge by Jarrod Gee and Caguioa.

Then came Alvarez’s and MOore’s daggers of three-pointers.

Despite the win, FedEx coach Derrick Pumaren expressed disappointment on his team’s performance.

"At halftime, I got mad because we’re not playing what we supposed to play. Laging ganoong, when we’re up against teams ranked lower than us, there’s the tendency to relax," said Pumaren.

"We have to do a better job if we’re to make it to the next round," he added.

Even Moore and Alvarez had their lousy plays and turnovers but redeemed themselves with their endgame heroics. Moore led all scorers with 29 points that went with 11 rebounds against six turnovers. Alvarez had a near double-double job with 15 points and nine rebounds but he committed three errors.

Green marked his return stint in the league with 26 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals and one block.