Express press bid for first ever semis

Will Darvin Ham be able to make a better showing and give justice to his credential as an eight-year NBA veteran tonight?

Ham must come up with his A-game and improve on his so-so performance Wednesday or the Talk n Text Phone Pals could kiss their title hopes goodbye.

Enjoying their finest form in years, the Air21 Express go for the clincher and a first-ever stint in the semifinals in their San Mig Coffee PBA Fiesta Cup best-of-five quarterfinal showdown at 7 p.m. at the Astrodome.

"With all our efforts, we’ll try to close it on Friday (today) because we really have to. We would have a harder time beating them in a deciding game," said Air21 coach Bo Perasol.

"For sure, it won’t be an easy task. I’ll just tell the boys to continue doing what we’ve been doing right," Perasol added.

The young Air21 mentor expects Ham to come out stronger in his second game with the Pals and said his troops should be ready.

"Ham didn’t have enough time to jell with Talk n Text Wednesday. That’s also the time when one feels the jetlag. I’m sure he’ll come back strong the next game," said Perasol.

Ham, a Texas Tech product who was a member of the 2004 NBA champion team the Detroit Pistons, proved no extraordinary player in his PBA debut.

Shawn Daniels more than held his ground against Ham and the Air21 locals did their own job as the Express whipped the Phone Pals, 98-93, to move within a win of a Final Four date with semifinalist-in-waiting the Purefoods Chunkee Giants.

Ham struggled for only 16 points on 7-of-19 field-goal shooting and Asi Taulava and Jimmy Alapag had to carry much of the scoring load as they tried to stop the Express charge to no avail.

Renren Ritualo exploded for 28 points while Daniels posted his 20th double-double game with 17 points and14 rebounds in leading the Express to the crucial win.

How fast will Ham jell with the Phone Pals and how will the team be able to solve the Express’ pressing defense are Talk n Text’s major concerns.

In Game Three, Air21 forced Talk n Text to commit 27 errors and the Express outscored the Phone Pals, 30-18, on points off turnovers.

"With the kind of lineup that we have, we don’t have any other way to beat formidable teams like Talk n Text than to press," said Perasol.