Barangay Ginebra nearly squandered a 19-point lead in the fourth quarter and needed to watch Air21 self-destruct in the dying seconds to salvage a 108-103 victory last night in the Smart-PBA Philippine Cup at the Astrodome.
The Kings thought they had heard the last of the Express after storming to a 94-75 lead early in the fourth. But the crowd favorites fell into a maze of errors, enabling the Air21 side to mount a comeback anchored on Ranidel de Ocampo and Arwind Santos.
The Express, pouncing on the Gin Kings’ four straight misses on the foul line, moved within two points, 103-105, on a de Ocampo triple with 18.9 seconds left in the contest.
But Wynne Arboleda and JC Intal turned the ball over in succession, paving the way for Eric Menk’s free throws that sealed Ginebra’s fifth victory in 12 games.
Menk finished with 19 points while Jay Jay Helterbrand added 18 to lead four other teammates with double-digit scores.
Santos, who unleashed a 29-point effort in an 88-80 win over Welcoat Paints Sunday, fired a career-best 32 points but he failed to take over down the stretch as the Express fell to their sixth setback against five wins.
“We’re still in the process of getting over our previouls losses to Alaska and Air21 and this win really helped,” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico.
In the Alaska game, Ginebra rallied from 20 points down and even took a five-point lead with three minutes to go but still dropped an 82-87 setback in Lucena City.
The Gin Kings also blew a big lead and lost to the Express the first time out, 95-102.
In the second game, Talk n Text snapped out of a three-game skid as it turned back Purefoods, 101-98, for its sixth win against the same number of losses.
The pacesetting Hotdogs fell to their second straight defeat and third overall against nine triumphs.