After going 0-14 in last season’s Philippine Cup when it was still known as Shopinas.com and following a season debut loss four days ago finally tasted victory in the all-Filipino conference for the first time in franchise history, beating new PBA team Globalport 88-81 last Sunday in front of close to 15,000 fans at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
John Wilson scored a team-high 17 points but it was KG Canaleta and Wynne Arboleda finding their touch in the fourth quarter and providing the needed endgame poise that keyed Air21's rebound from an 87-90 defeat to Barako Bull last Wednesday.
Led by two-time MVP Willie Miller, Globalport came charging back from 65-77 and threatened Air21 down the stretch, trimming the gap to 75-79 and a low of 78-82, the last with still 31.6 seconds remaining.
It would prove to be the Batang Pier's last gasp, however, as the Express relatively remained unperturbed through charities by Noy Baclao and baskets by Wilson and Canaleta.
Rabeh Al-Hussaini could have helped, but he was never fielded in. According to a team insider, the move was a sort of sanction for the 6-8 center, who went 1-for-7 from mainly perimeter shots in a 90-110 loss to Barangay Ginebra on opening day two Sundays ago.
Globalport Glenn Capacio would not issue any statement about the benching, but Miller said he, too, was among those surprised when Al-Hussaini was not used at all.
"Hindi ko nga rin alam kung bakit hindi ako ginamit," said Al-Hussaini while on his way out of the dugout.
With only natural forwards Jason Deutchman, a rookie, and Jondan Salvador mainly manning the middle for the Batang Pier the Express won the battle off the boards, 52-37, with another rookie Yousef Taha accounting for a game-high 12 boards.
Still, head coach Franz Pumaren is far from satisfied with his Express, claiming they could have done much better.
"This game should have been over in the last three minutes," said Pumaren, pointing out his team's tendency to veer from their gameplan.
"It's a sign that we're still in this stage where everybody's still adjusting with each other," he added.
According to Pumaren, his team loss to Barako Bull even helped a lot in improving Air21's collective mind-set in surviving a second straight close game.
"We tend to run away from what we're supposed to do. There are several scenarios when we went one-on-one, rushed things," stated Pumaren. "After that Barako game, we're slowly getting used to playing in a close game."
"We tend to run away from what we're supposed to do. There are several scenarios when we went one-on-one, rushed things," stated Pumaren. "But all in all, after that Barako game, we're slowly getting used to playing in a close game."
Mark Isip added 12 points for Air21, the same output notched by Canaleta after making eight in the fourth period where Arboleda accounted for six of his nine.
Miller wound up with 22 points. Gary David had 17 points but only after going 5-for-22 from the field. Deutchman posted a career-high 14 points after scoring the Batang Pier's first eight points.
Pumaren said Globalport's current standing is no true gauge of its potential. "This team down the road is going to be very dangerous, with Miller and David," he said. "They'll make the other teams struggle once they start adjusting." (NC)
The scores:
AIR 21 88 - Wilson 17, Isip 12, Canaleta 12, Arboleda 9, Custodio 8, Sena 7, Omolon 6, Atkins 5, Taha 4, Baclao 4, Ritualo 4.
GLOBALPORT 81 - Miller 22, David 17, Deutchman 14, Manuel 9, Salvador 8, Lingganay 5, Mandani 2, Vanlandingham 2, Adducul 2, Raymundo 0, Guevarra 0.
Quarterscores: 24-24, 41-39, 65-60, 88-81
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