MANILA: Jong Uichico managed a wry smile in facing reporters later, knowing he did everything that was needed to be done.
That smile was courageous, especially after having seen him and his gang fall short.
Arwind Santos was big on both ends at the clutch last night, coming up with two defensive gems and the final three points of Air21’s 76-73 victory over the Gin Kings for a 3-1 lead in their Fiesta Cup title series at the Cuneta Astrodome.
“I thought we did everything except win the game,” Uichico said.
Santos was the reason why the Kings failed to complete their plays at the crunch, first scoring on a breakaway layup after intercepting an Eric Menk pass to Mark Caguioa to break the game’s final tie and give Air21 a 75-73 lead with 43.3 left.
After that, he tightly marked Caguioa and forced the Ginebra spitfire to throw up a bad shot that was way off line, dooming the Kings and silencing the crowd that braved a strong early evening downpour to pack the small venue. In making a strong case for the Defensive Player of the Year, Santos held Caguioa to just seven points for the night, the lowest for the Ginebra ace in these playoffs, while scoring 12 points. The victory was also surprising with the fact that the Express won despite being taken out of their sweet spot, which was a high-scoring game. Air21 was held to below 80 points for the second straight contest, the first time in five years it has happened.
“The key there was that we were able to run even if the score was low,” said Air21 coach Bo Perasol. Jay-Jay Helterbrand did not suit up for the third straight game, and it again told heavily on the Kings as the Express had a heyday marking Caguioa defensively.
Chris Alexander was great in the early goings but made a crucial blunder in the final Ginebra offensive, committing a traveling violation with Air21 protecting that two-point lead to turn the ball over and pave the way for Santos’ final point from the stripe. Steven Thomas and Gary David each had 15 points to pace Air21. Thomas had 18 rebounds. Homer Se came off the bench to contribute 12 points, while Egay Billones scored 10 in starting at the point guard spot. For a while, the Express looked in disarray after Perasol opted to keep Wynne Arboleda on the bench for tip-off, going for the veteran Billones. The Express lagged behind by as many as 10 points early and had to work their way back for most of the first period. It was Arboleda who was ultimately taken out of rhythm as the 6-foot guard, also a prime Defensive Player of the Year candidate, picked up four fouls right in the first half and was a virtual non-factor before fouling out with still 82 seconds left.
“There really was no doubt in my mind that my players would be getting back at Ginebra,” Perasol also said. “I did not assure any victory, but just get back at them and be a better team tonight.”
Meanwhile, acrobatic Red Bull swingman Cyrus Baguio will get the maximum salary of P350,000 a month in the second year of a two-year extension the Barako will offer in the next few days.
Management, though, is preparing itself of losing their leading local scorer and top crowd draw through an offer sheet that they would not be able to match.
“If a team gives him an offer sheet, complete with signing bonus and other perks, we might not be able to match it,” said Red Bull team manager and board chairman Tony Chua yesterday.
Baguio, who became the team’s top local after management lost Enrico Villanueva, Larry Fonacier, Junthy Valenzuela and Lordy Tugade to lopsided trades before the start of the season, has been without a contract since last July 31. His old two-year pact had him receiving a monthly salary of P180,000 a month, a far cry compared to the princely sums a lot of players of his caliber are making.
And while the decision to pay him the maximum allowable salary is a no-brainer, Red Bull simply couldn’t offer him more as league rules prevent salaries from jumping more than 50% for the following season.
Baguio won the Most Improved Player award Wednesday night after averaging more than 18 points a contest for Red Bull, which placed third in both tournaments this year.
