Thursday, July 03, 2008 Air21 erases 14-point lead for 12th win
MANILA - Gary David fired 30 points as the Air 21 Express pulled a 113-103 win over the Purefoods Giants yesterday to formalize their first semifinal appearance in the 2008 Smart-PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Express, determined to claim the top spot at the end of the double-round elimination, came back from a 14-point defict early in the second period en route to the big win, which really showed they deserved to be in the round-of-four for the first time since joining the league in 2002.
They finished their elimination round assignment with the highest 12-6 win-loss slate which can only be matched by idle Red Bull Barakos, who are currently holding a 10-6 card.
If the Barakos, who still have two matches remaining, can settle with similar record after the elims, then a quotient system will be used to determine the no. 1 and no.2.
However, in the case of the Express and the Barakos, both evened their two meetings in the reinforced conference with similar 10-point difference as Red Bull won the first, 102-92, but Air 21 bounced back by winning the second encounter, 119-109.
Purefoods, which clobbered the Express, 102-94, in their first meeting last April 9, settled with an 8-10 record and thus will be relegated to the wildcard phase.
The 6-foot-1 Bataan-born David was so amazing all night, hitting 10 of 14 in the field and 4 of 7 in the three-point arc, that practically made up for the low production of 6-foot-9 import Steve Thomas, who could only manage 13 points.
Thomas, a former Middle Tennessee State University forward, instead worked on an effective defensive job to finish with 17 rebounds, 5 assists and six block shots.
Coach Bo Perasol expressed elation over the fine display of readiness for the forthcoming semifinal round as six of the Express finished with double digits in a well-balanced game.
"We have showed our determination to win games and I think that is a good indication for us especially in the semis. Although, we have a lot of plans to prepare the team for the much biggest challenge," said Perasol, whose other stint as a coach was with the Laguna Lakers in the now defunct Metropolitan Basketball Association.
Aside from David, a product of Lyceum University, the others who scored in double digits were Wynne Arboleda, who added 20 points, Ranidel de Ocampo (15) and 13 each for Thomas and Arwind Santos as well as 10 from KG Canaleta.
James Yap topscored for the Giants with 24 points, 18 in the first half, while Kerby Raymundo settled with 20 . Peter Jun Simon and 7-foot import Reda Rhalimi had 16 each. (FCC)
