Saturday, July 26, 2008 Air21 beats Magnolia for 2-1 lead
MANILA - The Air21 Express held Magnolia Beverage to only two points in the last 4:45 of the match en route to an 82-78 win yesterday to take a 2-1 edge in the best-of-seven semifinal series of the 2008 Smart-PBA Fiesta Conference at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo City.
Gary David starred in the Express last ditch effort by hitting 10 points including back-to-back triples in the final six minutes and Arwind Santos added five points down-the-stretch to notch their second straight win following a 113-87 loss in the absence of 6-foot-9 import Steven Thomas in the first match.
It was a sorry loss for the Beverage Masters, who were leading by as much as eight points, 74-66, with only 6:28 remaining only to tumble in the homestretch after successive turnovers.
David, the league’s most improved player in 2005, went on to finish with 17 points on top of three triples and hit 6-of-13 attempts in the field goal.
He also topscored for Air 21 with 26 points in their 103-102 triumph in the second match last Wednesday.
Aside from David, three other Expresses scored in double digits. Among them were Homer Se with 12 and Santos and Wynne Arboleda, who had 11 each.
As expected Amar McCaskill led the scoring for Magnolia with 16 points, while Lordy Tugade contributed 15 Dorian Pena had 12.
The Beverage Masters were leading three-fourths of the way by taking the first period, 24-17, on a high 45 percent shooting but Thomas, David and KG Canaleta suddenly exploded with a 24-17 run to lock the match, 41-41 at the half.
Coach Bo Perasol, whose Express are looking for their first ever finals appearance since joining the league in 2002, expressed confidence they could wrap the long series in a short distance.
“We are getting closer. I think it’s just going to be a short series. We have the confidence and the whole team is really hungry for our first ever finals appearance,” said Perasol.
