MANILA, Philippines - Air21 outfought B-MEG Derby Ace, 77-69, in a gripping out-of-town matchup in Naga City last night, leaving the reigning champion the only winless team two weeks into the 2010-2011 PBA Philippine Cup.
Before a good weekend crowd at the Naga City Coliseum, the Express humbled James Yap and his teammates to nail their first win in the season after three starts.
The Llamados, struggling minus injured big men Kerby Raymundo, Marc Pingris and Rafi Reavis, suffered a third loss in a row.
Meanwhile, action swings back to the Araneta Coliseum today with four teams with similar 1-1 win-loss records figuring in an interesting double-header.
Barako Bull and Powerade clash at 4 p.m. then San Miguel Beer and Barangay Ginebra collide at 6:30 p.m.
The Energy Boosters and the Kings have just broken into the win-column.
The Express notched their own first win riding high on the exploits of forwards Ronjay Buenafe, Wesley Gonzales and Ronnie Matias.
Buenafe led all scorers with 21 points while Gonzales and Matias combined for 20 points in the contest serving as the second leg of the Phoenix Fuel PBA on Tour. It was the PBA’s first visit in Naga in over two decades.
Wynne Arboleda and Carlo Sharma made key baskets in the crunch as Air21 scored its first win with a lineup beefed up by celebrated rookie draftees Nonoy Baclao and Rabeh Al-Hussaini.
Baclao, the top pick, tossed in eight points, including a basket from close range giving Air21 a 73-66 cushion entering the last two minutes of the game.
The Llamados set the pace early on as they cashed in heavily on their domination off the boards.
Derby Ace offset a poor field-goal shooting with 15 rebounds in the first half, enabling the Llamados to take the turn at 36-33.
Romel Adducul flexed his muscles early, firing eight points in Derby Ace’s 11-5 opening run.
But the Express started to get into the groove towards the end of the first quarter and had their first taste of the lead at 20-18 on a jumper and later by two free throws by Buenafe in the second period.
The former Emilio Aguinaldo College top gun himself provided the initial spark for the Express on back-to-back triples late in the opening canto.