Comebacking Cabagnot saves Boosters from Express

MANILA, Philippines -- Alex Cabagnot marked his comeback by making the winning shot as Petron Blaze withstood Air21’s gritty challenge and stretched its unbeaten run to six games with a 90-88 nail-biter in the PLDT MyDSL PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Wednesday night.

Cabagnot used Junemar Fajardo’s pick to elude defender Bonbon Custodio and convert a one-handed running jumper with just 3.5 ticks to go and with Air21 no more time out left.

The Petron Fil-Am guard, back from a right foot injury, himself was in front of Custodio, denying the Air21 guard a decent shot in the dying seconds.

“Coming from a long layoff, that heroic job is good for Alex’s confidence,” said Petron coach Gee Abanilla.

With Cabagnot’s bailout shot, preserved were the sterling numbers of Chris Lutz, Fajardo, Arwind Santos and Marcio Lassiter.

Lutz topscored with 25 points while Fajardo stood his ground against Asi Taulava, piling up yet another double-double with 16 rebounds and 13 markers as the Boosters kept their unblemished slate while dealing the Express a sixth loss against a solitary win.

Santos added 14 points and nine rebounds while Lassiter contributed 12 markers, including two big baskets at crunch time.

Taulava came up with his own double-double with 18 boards and 16 markers while Mac Cardona, KG Canaleta, Eric Camson and Vic Manuel scored in double figures as the Express pushed the fancied Boosters to the limit.

Canaleta banged in back-to-back treys as the Express forged the 88-all deadlock with time down to 20.2 seconds.

The Boosters won’t be denied, though.

Cabagnot came through with 10 points, seven assists and three rebounds in his comeback while another returning Petron player Chris Ross produced 10 points, six assists and five rebounds.

The Express picked up their game in the second quarter, making a 13-point turnaround as they wiped out a 10-point deficit at 10-20 and surged ahead at 39-36.

Cabagnot beat the buzzer with a running three-pointer as the Boosters tied the count at 39 at the half.

The Express had another searing chase in the third quarter, erasing a nine-point deficit, 46-55, and taking a 60-59 edge into the final period.

Cardona and Taulava stood at the forefront of Air21’s second-quarter romp, combining for 19 points and four rebounds.

Cardona was perfect in the quarter, going 5-of-5 from the field and 2-of-2 from the line while Taulava scored against defender Fajardo thrice underneath.

The Express started flat, converting only 21.1 percent of their shots and committing three turnovers in the opening canto.