Now the Express are headed to the playoffs no one previously thought they could.

Air21 quelled a spirited uprising by Alaska, holding the Aces scoreless in the final 2:08 in a 92-83 victory and seizing the last quarterfinal round berth in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Wednesday night at the Araneta Colizeum.

Figuring in a game that doesn’t matter to Alaska but significant to Air21 in a big, big way, the Express delivered another effort reflecting how vastly improved they have become, chemistry wise, clinching their fourth straight win and fifth overall in nine games to end up fourth going into the best-of-three quarter-final round.

Air21 again meets Alaska in the playoffs Friday, expecting the ‘real’ Alaska to show up.

“Even though we beat them tonight, we feel we’re still the underdogs,” said Air21 coach Bong Ramos.

Because of Air21’s win, Derby Ace got eliminated in the playoff race.

The Llamados were hoping for an Alaska victory for them to squeeze into the quarterfinal round, but saw their hopes flame out after the Aces could not sustain a run from 18 points down in the third quarter.

Ginebra thus finished with the No. 3 seeding while Rain or Shine, which lost to San Miguel Beer in the opening game, wound up at sixth spot. The Elasto Painters and the Llamados both had 4-5 (win-loss) records but Rain or Shine managed to advance to the quarterfinal round because the Painters beat the Llamados, 95-94, on Feb. 23.

It really was a remarkable achievement for the Express, who nobody thought would advance this far after starting the tournament at 1-4 (win-loss). They won their opening game against San Miguel Beer, but lost four straight after the blockbuster trade that sent Rabeh Al-Hussaini, Noy Baclao and Rey Guevarra to the Beermen in exchange for Danny Seigle, Dondon Hontiveros, Dorian Pena and Paul Artadi.

These days, the Express appear to be enjoying their time with their veteran new members, primarily the reason why they have won their last four assignments.

Alpha Bangura scored 25 points, Hontiveros had 18, and Wynne Arboleda contributed 17 for Air21, which led 77-59 on a basket by JR Reyes with 33.6 seconds to go in the third period.

But Alaska came back ferociously, cutting down the deficit to within 86-83 on a basket by import LD Williams with still 2:08 remaining in the game.

That was, however, proved to be the Aces’ last stand.

Hontiveros converted two free throws, Arboleda knocked in a jumper with 17 seconds left, and Bangura sealed the outcome with two more charities to make it a 92-83 ball game, time down to its last 12 seconds.

“Alaska is a tough team,” Ramos said. “It’s a short series (quarterfinals) but we will try our best. Bilog ang bola and I think we have the chance to beat them with the kind of personnel we have.”

Earlier, San Miguel Beer and Rain or Shine fought as if something huge was at stake in a game that had no bearing, with the Beermen eventually outlasting the Elasto Painters in a 121-117 overtime win.

David Young collected 42 points, Arwind Santos had 17 points and 14 rebounds, and the two combined for more than half of San Miguel Beer’s output in extra time as the Beermen snapped a six-game losing streak at the end of their unmemorable performance in the tournament.

“Nanalo rin,” said rookie SMB coach Ato Agustin.

Winner of a league-best 18 championships, San Miguel Beer finished dead last in the conference, losing to Powerade in the tie-break after both ball clubs ended with 2-7 records. The only time the franchise wound up at the tail-end after the elimination round was way back in the 1986 Open (Third) Conference under the name of Magnolia in a league of seven teams.

In that Open Conference, the ball club had just returned to the PBA after taking a leave of absence in the season’s first two conferences.

Officially, the Beermen are out of the playoff picture for the first time in 11 conferences and only the second in the last 36 tournaments dating back to the 1996 Governors’ Cup. The last time San Miguel did not make if to the quarter-finals was in the 2005-06 Fiesta Conference.

Young and Santos each scored four points in extra time, and San Miguel finally registered a victory since a 90-89 win over Meralco on March 4. Had the Beermen lost the game last night, the seven-game slide would have gone down as the franchise’s worst.

Regulation ended at 109-109 after a point-blank basket by Beau Belga with 16.1 seconds to go before Young committed a terrible miss from three-point range as time expired.

Young also submitted 12 rebounds and six assists in his first and only win this conference after replacing Ira Brown, while Santos shot 6-of-11 from the field. Danny Ildefonso also added 17 points, and Alex Cabagnot contributed 16 points and a season high-tying 12 assists for San Miguel Beer, which played minus Jay Washington (back pains).