Steven Thomas outclassed Marquis Gainous at the finish and the Air21 Express upended the Welcoat Dragons, 91-87, to assure themselves of at least a playoff for a quarterfinal seat in the Smart PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum last night.
Thomas scored clutch points while shackling Gainous in the last two minutes of play, powering the Express to the victory and the solo lead entering the homestretch of the double-round elimination phase.
With a 10-6 win-loss card, the Express can nail a playoff for an outright semifinal entry with one more win in their two remaining assignments in the elims.
“Honestly, I was expecting to breeze through in this game with all the motivations at hand for the team. I felt I gave the boys so much pressure instead of just letting them play. But we’ve achieved our initial goal and I’m happy for that,” said coach Bo Perasol after his wards survived the surprisingly tough Dragons.
“Our chance to make the top two depends on how we look at it. The motivation now is if we make the top two, we’re a series away from the championship which we’ve been aspiring for a long time now,” Perasol said.
Sta. Lucia found its old form to end Alaska’s amazing streak with an emphatic 95-75 win in the nightcap.
“It’s really nice to get back on the win-column. Hopefully, this is not a lucky win, and this could carry us to another good showing against Red Bull Sunday. One more win could change our outlook,” said Sta. Lucia coach Boyet Fernandez as his troops snapped their four-game skid.