Saturday, November 12, 2005
Air21 extends SMB’s misery
The Air21 Express made life more miserable for coach Jong Uichico and the defending champion San Miguel Beer.
Shawn Daniels had a 20-20 game and the Express wore down the Beermen with a suffocating defense in the fourth quarter for a 90-86 victory last night in the San Mig Coffee-PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.
After Kwan Johnson gave San Miguel an 82-81 lead with 4:32 left, Daniels scored in the lane, then John Ferriols hit an 8-footer as the Express grabbed a three-point lead.
In the nightcap, Red Bull improved to a 6-4 slate after 111-95 win over Ginebra. Ginebra fell to 6-5 with the loss.
Aggressive
San Miguel went 2-of-8 from the line during that span with Danny Seigle, the league’s local scoring leader, making just two of six free throws.
“If we have to beat San Miguel, I told the boys we have to be aggressive with our full-court defense. I’m just glad the players responded well,” said Air21 head coach Bo Perasol, whose team avenged a 123-119 double overtime decision against San Miguel Beer last Oct. 29 in Roxas City, Capiz.
The loss was the third consecutive for the Beermen, whose 1-7 start is their worst in a season the last 19 years.
Big leads
The Express, who trailed, 42-48, at halftime and by as much as 10 in the first half, kept the score close by effectively clogging the lanes and constantly throwing a double-team on SMB’s low-post players.
Daniels, who used his roly-poly built to the hilt, led all scorers with 22 points and grabbed 20 rebounds. He also had four assists, three steals and three shotblocks.
Once again, the back-to-the-wall defending champions blew a double-digit lead, the same way they did against Sta. Lucia last Wednesday when they squandered a 16-point lead and went down in defeat, 82-85.
They also had a 10-point lead in the final four minutes against Barangay Ginebra last Nov. 2 only to lose, 74-72.
Air21 (90) – Daniels 22, Ritualo 20, Ferriols 10, de Ocampo Y. 10, Tubid 8, Canaleta 7, de Ocampo R. 5, David 5, Fran 2, Dacia 1, Gonzales 0, Se 0, Arboleda 0. San Miguel Beer (86) – Johnson 19, Seigle D. 17, Belasco 16, Ildefonso 10, Pena 10, Calaguio 5, Hontiveros 5, Racela 4, Adriano 0, Villoria 0. (PBA media bureau)
(November 12, 2005 issue)
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