Air21 ends SMB reign, gains quarterfinals

San Miguel’s reign as the PBA Fiesta Cup champion is over.

The Air21 Express relegated the Beermen to the sidelines two weeks into the playoffs by pulling off an emphatic 100-86 victory on a strong windup in their knockout duel for the right to battle the Talk n Text Phone Pals in the best-of-five quarterfinal round last night at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Express turned a close fight into a rout with a torrid 18-0 run at endgame and dethroned the Beermen in their wildcard showdown.

San Miguel, foiled in its bid for a title-repeat and an unprecedented 18th crown, settled for eighth place.

Air21 survived its only third sudden-death match in franchise history and gained a shot at the best-of-seven semifinals against Talk n Text starting with Game One at 5:30 p.m. today in the same venue.

Alaska Milk and Red Bull clash in the other best-of-five quarterfinals pairing with the winner advancing to the semifinals against Barangay Ginebra.

The Barakos will field a new import in former Texas Christian University standout James Penny in in the opener of their playoff against the Aces at 3:15 p.m.

"Talk n Text will be a very difficult task but we’ll try our best to hurdle them," said Air21 coach Bo Perasol.

"They enjoy a 2-1 lead in our head-on matches this conference. They even outplayed us in our playoff for an automatic seat in the quarters. But this wildcard round is a good learning experience for us. It could make us a better team in our rematch with Talk n Text," Perasol added.

Perasol felt they could get a good shot against Talk n Text if his backcourt players hold their own against their TnT counterparts, including Jimmy Alapag, Willie Miller and Donbel Belano.