MANILA, 6 April 2007 — For Air21 and San Miguel, there was a whiff of fresh air in spite of the tremendous heat.

With the scorching heat prevalent, the Express and the Beermen snapped losing streak in the PBA Fiesta Cup on Wednesday night after bringing down formidable foes with convincing victories at the Araneta Coliseum.

Gary David scored 27 points and Shawn Daniels added 19 and 15 rebounds to key a 116-104 decision over Alaska that ended a two-game Air21 slide and put the Express into a tie for second place.

Air21, after losses to Red Bull and newcomer Welcoat, jumped into a tie with idle Barangay Ginebra and the Aces at 5-2.

The Beermen, meanwhile, finally won one after seven tries, clipping the Talk ‘N Text Phone Pals, 106-98, in the second game that almost went out of hand after a hard foul by Donbel Belano on Dorian Pena.

Import Paul McMillan dropped 41 points and the Phone Pals partially aided the San Miguel win with crucial blunders in the stretch.

“We finally got one,” interim San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen said. “Some people say that it (win) is bound to happen. But we simply cannot sit and wait for that. The boys worked really hard for it.” The Beermen remained in the cellar with a 1-6 card, but the win could touch off a string of victories since it has somewhat restored the confidence in them after being the whipping boys for the first five weeks of the tournament.

San Miguel almost blew a 16-point advantage, 98-82, when the Phone Pals crept to within six points only to flub possession several times and eventually drop to 3-4 overall.

Talk ‘N Text has thus failed to win back-to-back games for the first time. The Phone Pals were coming off a 99-92 victory over Barangay Ginebra last week and actually came into the game as the decided favorites. The Phone Pals had come within 92-98 before missing three free throws and committing three turnovers that helped the Beermen break away.

Belano, a hard-nosed guard who is enjoying a lot of minutes with Jimmy Alapag on loan to the National team, hit Pena in the groin early in the fourth period and got ejected for it.

His absence put the Talk ‘N Text offensive in disarray for a while as a bench-clearing incident ensued with Pena and Harvey Carey getting technical fouls each for second motion.

Four locals, led by Willie Wilson’s 14, were churned out by the San Miguel locals, even as Mark Cardona scattered 29 points to pace the Phone Pals. Talk ‘N Text import JJ Sullinger contributed 21.

Air21, meanwhile, played so well that the Aces played catch-up all night.

David has been the revelation of the tournament, continuing to be the only local to lead his team in scoring, with his effort last night no different than the others.

The 6-foot-2 guard scored 16 points in the first half and Daniels tossed in 10 of his total in the opening frame to key the Air21 breakaway early.

The Express never let up after that, spoiling the 36 points tossed in by Alaska import Rosell Ellis, which now stands as his best offensive output since scoring 46 points in beginning his PBA career with Coca-Cola in 2001.

In a related development, the Tigers boosted their stock yesterday after completing a five-player deal with Sta. Lucia.

Former MVP Kenneth Duremdes and crack point guard Alex Cabagnot were acquired by the Tigers along with big man Recaredo Calimag for Denok Miranda, third-tier slotman Manny Ramos and a second round pick next year.

“Of course, I’m saddened by this development,” Duremdes told Arabnews. “But life has to go on. Such is the life of a basketball player. There’s no need for me to sulk and pity myself.

“I am looking at this as a new challenge in my career and to tell you frankly, I am excited at the prospect of playing for another team,” the 1998 MVP said.