Air 21 fights for life, still in hunt

MANILA, Philippines - Air21 hung on to dear life as the Express fought back from six points down to upset the three-time defending champions Talk n Text Tropang Texters, 102-100, in the PLDT MyDSL PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

Asi Taulava, with a sixth double-double outing in the tourney, kept Air21 intact in the first three quarters of play before KG Canaleta, Joseph Yeo and Bonbon Custodio took over with their back against the wall at the finish as the Express pulled off with the big win to revive their playoff hopes.

“We’re still alive, kicking and still in the hunt. The beauty of this win is that we keep our destiny in our hands,” said Air21 coach Franz Pumaren. “We win our last two games and we earn a playoff shot.”

The Express improved their record to 3-9 (win-loss) in scoring their first win (under their Shopinas.com line) over the Tropang Texters in an all-Filipino match.

Canaleta, Yeo and Custodio came through in the clutch as the Express overcame a six-point deficit in the last 2:54 of play and subsequently dealt the Texters their fourth loss against seven wins.

Canaleta fired a triple, Yeo strung up five straight points then Custodio snared a big rebound and made two charities in a crucial run, pushing the Express ahead, 101-97, with time down to 13 seconds.

A three-pointer by Jason Castro and a split from the line by KG Canaleta provided the Texters a ray of hope.

But as they fought for the loose ball, Jimmy Alapag and Ryan Reyes fumbled with the ball as time expired.

“We’re finally able to close out a close game. We have the tendency to give up important shots in the end. This time, we held on in the last few seconds,” said Pumaren.

Taulava produced yet another double-double game with 23 points and 18 rebounds while Canaleta, Custodio, Yeo, Ronnie Matias, and Eric Camson added double-digit outputs for the Express.

Castro delivered 21 points to topscore for the Texters while Alapag added 20 on an amazing six-of-12 three-point shooting. Before the game, Alapag had missed his last 24 three-point attempts dating back to Dec. 3.

The cat-quick national player unloaded three treys in a 19-7 exchange pushing the Texters upfront, 97-91.

The Texters, however, failed to deliver the finishing touch.

Castro banged away a three-pointer off two defenders at the buzzer as the Texters seized the lead, 46-45, at the half.

It became a pair of reversals as Barako Bull jolted Petron Blaze, 92-88, later in the night.

The Energy Cola outscored the Boosters, 11-3, in the last 3:27 of play and ended a long slump in their Philippine Cup head-on duels dating back to 2006.

With Taulava imposing his presence at the paint, the Express held control most of the first half, leading by eight at 36-28.

The 6-foot-10 behemoth had piled up double-double numbers with 17 points and 10 rebounds by the half.

The Texters, however, stopped Taulava’s momentum towards the end of the second quarter, and Castro, Danny Seigle and Larry Fonacier made their own searing attack to carry TnT ahead going into the final half.

The two teams both came out strong, fighting through three deadlocks and four lead changes before the Express took the opening quarter at 23-21.

Taulava had 11 points and seven rebounds in a productive first-quarter for Air21 while Reyes, Alapag and Jai Reyes combined for a remarkable five-of-six three-point shooting for Talk n Text.

The scores:

First Game

Air21 102 – Taulava 23, Canaleta 16, Custodio 15, Matias 13, Yeo 13, Camson 10, Manuel 8, Cardona 4, Espiritu 0, Arboleda 0, Sharma 0.

Talk N’ Text 100 – Castro 21, Alapag 20, De Ocampo 14, Reyes R. 11, Baclao 11, Seigle 8, Fonacier 6, Anthony 4, Reyes J. 3, Carey 2, Williams 0.

Quarterscores: 23-21, 45-46, 75-77, 102-100

Second Game

Barako 92 – Peña 18, Intal 17, Miranda 11, Lastimosa 10, Pennisi 9, Maierhofer 7, Miller 7, Isip 6, Buenafe 5, Wilson 2, Macapagal 0, Jensen 0.

Petron 88 – Lutz 17, Cabagnot 15, Santos 15, Lanete 8, Kramer 8, Lassiter 7, Tubid 6, Taha 4, Deutchman 4, Ross 4.

Quarterscores: 24-21, 36-47, 63-71, 92-88