‘Pinoy’ Express  yield to Masters

An all-Filipino Air21 squad managed to put up a tough fight in the first half before slowly fading away and eventually yielding to Magnolia in the opener of their Smart PBA Fiesta Conference Final Four showdown at the Astrodome last night.

Amal McCaskill and his Magnolia local teammates asserted themselves in the final half and crushed the Express, 113-87, for the crucial head start in their best-of-seven semis series.

Beaten by the Beverage Masters for the first time in three matches in the tourney, the Express are looking to get back Wednesday with import Steven Thomas already back in action.

Both coaches Siot Tanquingcen of Magnolia and Bo Perasol of Air21 said Game Two would be an entirely different ballgame.

“No doubt, the absence of Thomas was a big disadvantage for them. Game Two will be a different story,” said Tanquingcen.

“We’ll not be hard on ourselves with this loss. We’ll be in high spirits as we return with a complete unit Wednesday,” said Perasol.

Air21 team manager Lito Alvarez said Thomas, who attended tryouts in the US, was already in flight last night. He’s arriving this morning and he’ll be rejoining the Express in practice this afternoon.

Though playing sans Thomas, the Express dragged the Beverage Masters into a close fight early on, even enjoying a five-point lead at 44-39 largely through the exploits of Homer Se who finished with a career-high 31 points.

The Express, however, just couldn’t keep up with McCaskill and the Beverage Masters all the way, tapering off in the final half.

“Our positive spirit carried us in the first half before reality set it,” said Perasol.

“The boys were complacent at first. We were making baskets but we’re also letting them to get their baskets,” said Tanquingcen.

The Beverage Masters were slightly ahead at 50-46 at the half when they finally decided to take things seriously, making big runs after big runs in the final half.

McCaskill scored a PBA career high 34 points that went with 12 rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocks against three turnovers. Lordy Tugade, Dondon Hontiveros, Olsen Racela and Dorian Peña contributed at least 10 points each.

Barangay Ginebra outclassed Red Bull practically on all fronts, stretching its amazing streak to nine games with a 108-82 win in the opener of their own semis series.

“It’s just Game One and it doesn’t mean anything. It’s a long series and we know what Red Bull is capable of doing,” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico.