MANILA, Philippines - Air21 stunned erstwhile solo leader Alaska Milk, 86-83, while Barangay Ginebra crushed Barako Bull, 93-74, to catch up with idle Rain or Shine at fifth place in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Astrodome last night.
The Express sustained the momentum of their 88-80 win over the all-Filipino titlists B-MEG Derby Ace Llamados Saturday, toppling another champions in Fiesta Cup rulers Alaska Aces.
Ronjay Buenafe went 7-of-12 from the three-point area and finished with 25 points while celebrated rookies Rabeh Al-Hussaini and Nonoy Baclao had key contributions in the final stretch as Air21 ended Alaska’s unbeaten run dating back to last season.
“I’d been waiting for this kind of game for our team to show. I wanted our team to show character and it finally did,” said Air21 coach Yeng Guiao.
“I thought we got lucky the last time versus Derby Ace. In this game, we really earned it,” Guiao added. “We showed that we could go somewhere if we test ourselves, work hard and go to the limit.”
Earlier, scrappy forward Rudy Hatfield and the Ginebra guards delivered the needed numbers to compensate for the absence of ace frontcourt operator Eric Menk as the Kings clobbered the Barako Bull Energy Boosters.
Hatfield pulled down a league season high 22 rebounds and also got 13 points and four assists while Mark Caguioa, Willie Miller and Mike Cortez banged away at least 11 points each as the Kings overcame a shaky start and chalked up a second win in four starts.
Meanwhile, San Miguel Beer and Powerade, tied at third place with identical 2-1 slates, part ways as they meet in the third leg of the Phoenix Fuel PBA on Tour in Panabo, Davao del Norte today.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done on our side. We’re just finding ways to compete,” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico.
“In this particular game, we’re shaky in the first three quarters. We just broke loose in the final period. We can’t afford that against the championship contenders,” Uichico added.
True enough, the Kings slowly worked their way to the game, getting the good rhythm only in the last quarter as they handed the Energy Boosters a third loss against a lone win.
The Kings came through with a 12-to-nothing closing run to grab the lead, 45-39, at the half and unleashed an 8-0 opening blitz in the final quarter to rip the game apart at 79-63.
Ginebra missed the services of Menk for the second straight game due to a hamstring injury.
In Menk’s absence, Hatfield did much of the board work with the Fil-Am player grabbing 17 defensive rebounds and five offensive caroms to improve by one the previous total season high of 21 made by Alaska’s Sonny Thoss.
Hatfield could have easily surpassed his career high of 23 if not rested by Uichico with over three minutes left to play.
“Rudy knows his role is to rebound and run the floor. We have so many scorers in the team,” said Uichico.
“I’ve been trying to tell that to the other guys. There are too many scorers out there and they have to find a niche in the game where they can help. We need role players,” Uichico added.
Being less talented, the Energy Boosters relied on hard work as they took control in the early goings, enjoying a 12-point spread at 29-17.
Aris Dimaunahan, a former Ginebra player, scored Barako’s first 10 points and finished with 14 markers, three assists and steal.
Paolo Hubalde, another player who used to don the Ginebra jersey, added 11 points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal.
Barako finally activated veteran free agent Ken Bono and rookie draftee Borgy Hermida. Both saw action for a few minutes.