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.