Energy Boosters derail listless Express

MANILA, Philippines - Barako Bull checked a long skid in its personal duel with Air21, scoring its first win against former head coach Yeng Guiao as the Energy Boosters tripped the Express, 89-79, in the PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

The Energy Boosters played their first game in a long, long while, dominating a befuddled Air21 team coming off back-to-back wins over champion teams B-MEG Derby Ace and Alaska Milk.

Mark Isip tossed in a personal season-high 23 points while Sunday Salvacion and Aris Dimaunahan pumped in three triples each and finished with a combined output of 28 points as Barako beat Air21 for the first time in two years.

Before the game, the Energy Boosters had lost their last six meetings with the Express.

Meanwhile, as part of the league’s Halloween presentation, an explosive double-header is slated today, also at the Big Dome.

Joint leader San Miguel Beer and Derby Ace clash at 5 p.m. then Meralco and Powerade collide at 7:30 p.m.

The Derby Ace-San Miguel skirmish will be shown live over SolarTV, while the Meralco-Powerade tussle will be aired on a delayed basis at 10:30 p.m., also on SolarTV.

“We caught them napping,” said coach Junel Baculi as his troops stunned Air21 and, in the process, caught up with the Express, the Meralco Bolts B-Boys and the Powerade Tigers at 2-3.

“It was gratifying and credit goes to the boys. They played heads-up and that’s the only way for us to get the W’s,” Baculi said. “With the lineup that we have, we can’t outshoot our opponents but we can out-defend them.”

Air21 coach Yeng Guiao said it’s one of those nights that “it’s hard to explain things.”

Barangay Ginebra sustained its stirring run, blasting Rain or Shine, 90-73, to gain solo third place with a 4-2 card in the nightcap.

“Hopefully, we’re getting there. These games are good signs,” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico of their three consecutive wins over Derby Ace, Barako and Rain or Shine where they posted an average margin of 16.3 points.

“It was a bad night. The boys just didn’t have the energy in their game. Defensively, we couldn’t find remedy to stop them,” said Guiao.

Behind a solid game on both ends of the court, the Energy Boosters opened a 46-33 lead at the half, led by as many as 24 in the third and coasted to victory in the last quarter.

“We faced a team coming off two big wins. Our team, on the other hand, came off two losses. Hopefully, we can build our confidence and can go for back-to-back wins Sunday,” said Baculi.