2014 PBA Governors’ Cup: Air 21 pummels Meralco even as the Painters obliterate the Aces by 51 points!

Left: Arizona Reid gets in the mug of Calvin Abueva.
Right: Dom Sutton flushes one down as the Express halt the Bolts.

First Game: The Air 21 Express put the clamps on the Meralco Bolts to get their fourth win in six games, 80-67. The Express didn’t really shoot well here (just 35% overall), but they made the Bolts shoot even worse (33%). The most pivotal period here was the second quarter, where Air 21 limited Meralco to a paltry four points. The Express took the lead then and they never relinquished it. Not surprisingly, Dom Sutton and Asi Taulava led the way with a combined 47 points and 34 rebounds.

The Worst: There are two big reasons Meralco got thumped here: Air 21’s prowess in both rebounding and ball distribution. The Express outrebounded the Bolts, 69-46, with five guys grabbing five or more caroms while also utilizing better playmaking to their advantage. The Express had 14 assists compared to just 5 for the Bolts. Mac Cardona led Air 21 with 4 dimes.

West went south?: Mario West, Meralco’s import, had a lot of difficulty buying a bucket in this one. West knocked in just 7/29 field goals, including going 0/4 from beyond the arc. He finished with only 16 points in 44 minutes and not even his 15 rebounds could effectively offset his dismal shooting performance.

Second Game: FIFTY ONE points — that was the final difference in this game. The Painters just thoroughly dominated the Aces and they, quite literally, were relentless in this win, 123-72. ROS was already up by 28 points entering the fourth, but the Painters kept the pressure up anyway, scoring 34 markers in the final frame while limiting the Aces to just 11. In the end, this was the most lopsided defeat in Alaska’s franchise history, the most lopsided win in Rain or Shine’s own franchise history, and the fourth-biggest margin in league history. Phew. Basically, this game was one for the books.

The Worst: The Aces just got progressively worse as the game wore on. Their quarterly scores were 22, 21, 18, and then 11 points respectively. They turned the ball over 27 times, shot just 38% from the field, and allowed ROS to make 53% of its FGs. It wasn’t all bad, though, as the Aces won the battle of the boards, 52-44, behind the combined 18 rebounds of Bill Walker and Vic Manuel. Nobody outside of Walker, however, scored in double-digits.

Chan’s Touch: Gilas Pilipinas sniper Jeff Chan hasn’t had a very good PBA season. His season numbers are as follows: 11.7 points per game while shooting 31.9% fro beyond the arc and 38.1% from the field. In this conference, though, the former FEU Tamaraw has really caught fire. He is currently scoring nearly 14 points per game, making 2 triples per outing, hitting 50% of his threes, and 56% of his field goals. In other words, he’s back, folks.

Game recaps by Rey Joble/InterAKTV:

AIR 21 over MERALCO, 80-67

After relying on their stellar offense to win their first three games in the PLDT Home Telpad Governors’ Cup, the Air 21 Express proved they could triumph with defense too.

They shackled the Meralco Bolts in a low-scoring 78-67 dogfight on Wednesday at PhilSports Arena for their fourth win in six games, tying San Miguel Beer for fourth place in the standings.

“After our defensive effort, we toughened up more,” said Air 21 coach Franz Pumaren. “We get energy from playing hard-nosed defense.”

The Express allowed just four points in the second quarter to take the driver’s seat. They continued to control the game, opening up a double-digit lead late in the third period behind the power game of import Dominique Sutton and veteran center Asi Taulava.

“Good thing that my two big men played well,” said Pumaren.

Air 21 took a 53-41 bubble heading into the final quarter. The Express opened the period on an 6-2 run to take their biggest lead, 59-43.

Meralco tried to put together a rally, coming as close as seven points, but Sutton and Taulava had an answer each time the Bolts came within striking distance.

Sutton scored 25 points and grabbed 18 rebounds while Taulava had 22 and 16 as they feasted on Meralco’s smaller frontcourt.

Air 21 won despite shooting just below 35 percent from the field. Meralco was even worse, making just 33 percent of its attempts.

With the Express into the last third of their elimination round slate, Pumaren is targeting one of the top four sports in the playoffs, which come with twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals.

“Now we have four days off before our next game,” he said. “Last three games, we’re looking at winning two of three just for assurance. We must beat either SMB or San Mig.”

The Bolts were back on the losing track after finally winning their first game last Sunday, falling to 1-5 in a tie for last place with Barako Bull.

AIR 80 – Sutton 25, Taulava 22, Cardona 11, Ramos 7, Borboran 5, Yeo 4, Villanueva J. 3, Camson 3, Villanueva E. 0, Poligrates 0, Burtscher 0, Menor 0, Atkins 0.
MER 67 – Hodge 18, West 16, Cortez 13, David 10, Hugnatan 4, Dillinger 4, Ildefonso 2, Bringas 0, Caram 0, Salvacion 0, Sena 0, Guevarra 0, Wilson 0.
QS: 15-19, 26-23, 53-41, 80-67

Dom Sutton rises and flushes as the Express dominate the Bolts in the second half.

Gary David tries to drive past the D of Mac Cardona.

Versatile forward Mark Borboran shoots from long range.

RAIN OR SHINE over ALASKA, 123-72

Arizona Reid and the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters beat the Alaska Aces from pillar to post for a lopsided 123-72 victory on Wednesday at PhilSports Arena.

“It’s one of those days where everything you do is right, and the opponent, everything they do is wrong,” said Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao, who noted the lopsided result is not indicative of Alaska’s quality.

“I don’t think it’s their character. It can happen to any team.”

Reid scored a tournament-high 48 points for Rain or Shine, which improved to an even 3-3 in the PLDT Home Telpad Governors’ Cup.

“We needed this win. We’re still struggling, we want to use this momentum against Ginebra,” said Guiao, referring to the Elasto Painters’ next assignment on Sunday against the Gin Kings.

The Elasto Painters took the fight out of Alaska early, taking a 60-43 halftime lead behind 27 points in the first two quarters from lead.

The onslaught continued in the second half, as the Aces never looked like a threat in what ended up being extended garbage time.

“We were running our plays, we were running our execution well, we fed off on our defense, yung momentum nagtuloy-tuloy,” said Guiao.

After winning their first assignment under coach Alex Compton, the Aces have lost their third straight game to fall to 2-4.

ROS 123 – Reid 48, Chan 15, Belga 10, Arana 8, Lee 7, Cruz 6, Nuyles 6, Uyloan 5, Almazan 5, Teng 5, Tiu 4, Norwood 4, Ibanes 0, Rodriguez 0.
ALA 72 – Walker 15, Casio 9, Manuel 7, Baguio 7, Thoss 6, Reyes 5, Espinas 5, Bugia 4, Dela Cruz 4, Eman 4, Hontiveros 3, Abueva 2, Buenafe 1, Belasco 0, Jazul 0.
QS: 26-22, 60-43, 89-61, 123-72