The Express slowly pulled away in the fourth quarter en route to an 85-76 bashing of Rosegreen and the Hotdogs, sending the Governors Cup titlists on the brink of elimination in the Samsung PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Caruncho Gym in Pasig.
Thus, the Lina Group of Companies franchise practically scored a double-victory in the day with the rookie PBA ballclub earlier acquiring the services of Meneses in a trade deal with Barangay Ginebra. The Express took in the veteran guard-forward in exchange for their first round draft pick next year. But Meneses is still nursing a groin injury and may not be ready to play until late next month.
The Express made do with their old lineup as they scored a followup of their 94-87 victory over RP Selecta nearly two weeks ago, improving their win-loss record to 3-3 in the process. They caught the Alaska Aces, the Shell Turbo Chargers and the San Miguel Beermen at fifth place.
The Hotdogs practically bowed out of the race for the quarterfinal round as they suffered a fourth straight loss — the worst skid by any team in the conference and their sixth in seven games in all.
Purefoods actually played its best game in the conference, fighting FedEx tooth and nail in the first three quarters only to sag and collapse in the last period.