Express blast Kings, level title series
Air21 made a big comeback from a nine-point defeat in the series opener, playing aggressively throughout last night to end Barangay Ginebra’s amazing streak with a king-sized 124-90 win in Game Two of the Smart PBA Fiesta Conference best-of-seven finals at the
Badly beaten on rebounding and on running game in Game One, the Express turned things around, besting the Kings’ performance Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.
Air21 outscored Ginebra on all quarters in dealing the Kings their first loss in their last 14 games.
The Express sat on a 13-point cushion at the turn and started the final half with a 14-to-nothing run to settle the outcome of the game early, to the disappointment of the predominant Ginebra crowd.
The Bert Lina Group franchise instead tied the series at 1-1. The two teams dispute the 2-1 lead as the series returns to the Big Dome for Game Three tomorrow.
“We’re really determined to make a statement that we’re for real,” said coach Bo Perasol as the Express pulled off the 34-point win — the biggest winning margin in franchise history.
The Express led by as many as 36 points late in the game with each one responding well to the challenge.
Arwind Santos and Gary David fired 20 points apiece with nine other Air21 players scoring at least eight.
“All the players responded pretty well. We wanted to put in Ginebra’s mind that they’re beatable. We can’t afford to fall in a 0-2 hole against Ginebra,” said Perasol.
The Air21 mentor said the key was controlling the boards and keeping Ginebra from running.
The Express outrebounded the Kings, 55-41, and produced 23 fastbreak points as against Ginebra’s seven.
Steven Thomas played much better than Wednesday, showing up Chris Alexander curiously on the night the Ginebra reinforcement was named the Best Import.
Thomas produced 18 rebounds, 10 points, five assists and two blocks as against Alexander’s 10 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four blocks.
Jayjay Helterbrand also had a miserable game on the night he was crowned Best Player of the Conference. He struggled for four points and failed to finish the game, sustaining a suspected hamstring injury late in the third period.
The Express played with a lot of energy and intensity right in the opening half, taking the first quarter at 26-18 and carrying a 58-45 margin over into the second half.
The two teams both hit at a 47.4-percent clip but the Express scored much much more on hustle plays.
Steven Thomas alone nearly matched the rebounds of the whole Ginebra team, 14-17, in the first 24 minutes of play. The Express totaled 32 rebounds, 14 off the offensive boards leading to a 7-0 advantage by Air21 on second-chance points.
Alexander was limited to four rebounds while Mark Caguioa committed four fouls in the first half.
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