MANILA: It doesn’t take much to motivate Air21 in a game that meant practically nothing.
“It was still grocery money for the players,” coach Bo Perasol told mediamen in jest, moments after his Express rallied from 14 points down in the first half to turn back Purefoods 113-103 in a victory that sealed top ranking in the Fiesta Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Perasol was talking about the won-game bonus his players joked about before the game since they had already booked an automatic Final Four seat last weekend and didn’t really have to exert too much effort last night.
“But seriously, I told the players that if we want to achieve something bigger, we had to show it in games that have no bearing for us,” added Perasol, who guided the Express to a franchise-best elimination round finish and his best as a coach.
“Character is not switched on and off,” he said. “If we are winners, we have to show (everyone) that we are winners.”
Air21 finished with a 12-6 elimination round record, a slate which only Red Bull could match. The Barako have two games left, against Talk ‘N Text and Sta. Lucia, and could bag the second outright semifinal seat with just one win. The Express lagged behind in the second quarter, 29-43, and it would have been understandable if they didn’t push themselves more.
Air21 then slowly nibbled away at that deficit, forging ahead late in the fourth period when Gary David and Wynne Arboleda swished back-to-back triples for 95-94. The Express wouldn’t trail again, though the Tender Juicy Giants pulled even at 101 after a Peter June Simon fastbreak.
From that one-point lead, the Express actually bloated it to 101-94 before going scoreless for a two-minute span that allowed the Giants that 101-all tie heading into the final 1:25.
Ranidel de Ocampo scored on a one-handed jumper after that Simon coup and Arwind Santos completed a three-point play off Kerby Raymundo as the Express sealed the deal with a 106-101 lead with a shade under 50 seconds left.
“Right now, the challenge is how to stay sharp and competitive,” Perasol said, referring to at least a two-week break that goes with the automatic semifinal privilege. Coca-Cola snapped a three-game slide later after turning back Sta. Lucia, 89-80, as the Tigers assured themselves of at least a playoff for an outright quarterfinal slot. The Tigers, who got crucial three-pointers from Alex Cabagnot and Donald Copeland when the game hung in the balance, finished with a 10-8 card and like the Beverage Masters last week, are now left hoping for two Red Bull losses. It was a worthy swan song for Copeland, whose 32 points stood as his PBA-career high, as he departs for the United States today to attend to a child custody case in court. And that will leave the Tigers without an import if no suitable replacement arrives. “We are very supportive of his plight,” said Coca-Cola coach Binky Favis.
“We want him to come back, but at the rate things have happened, we might need to play again after a week or so, and I think Donald would not be available to return by then.”
Coca-Cola’s only chance of advancing to the semifinals outright also rests on two Red Bull losses, while the Realtors, who dropped to 8-9, will play in the wildcard regardless of the result of their game against the Barako.
Cabagnot scored 11 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter and Jason Dixon scored 15 to go with 10 rebounds as the Tigers snapped a three-game losing streak.
