It wasn’t only Express Ronnie Matias’ miss that allowed Ginebra to win, but also a glaring blunder on the part of the referees in one crucial play that would have given Air21 a tie and a strong chance at forging extension.
“We just escaped tonight, it was a lost game for us,” Uichico was man enough to admit in the post-game interview just minutes later. “Every win while we’re finding the right way to play is so important.
“Hopefully, we could find the right way at the right time,” added Uichico after Ginebra improved to 4-3, now tied with sister squad Derby Ace, which won a low-scoring contest with Rain or Shine, 75-67, later in the night.
Reggie Larry made the score what it was with 1:18 to play, scoring on a fastbreak lay-up that capped a five-point spurt for the Express,who actually blew a 15-point third quarter lead by missing 14 straight shots in a five-minute span in the fourth.
But Larry was clearly fouled by Willie Miller in that play and with the non-call, the Gin Kings were able to keep a one-point lead, which proved enough since both teams failed to buy a bucket from that point on.
“The referees just stole this game from us,” Air21 coach Yeng Guiao, obviously dejected but trying to keep his cool, said. “It was very poor officiating and it was unfair because we put in a great effort to try and win this game.” Guiao pointed to two more instances where his team got the raw end of the deal, one during a critical point in the fourth period where a shot by Rich Alvarez was nullified after the ball bounced so high it hit a portion of the shotclock above the backboard.
Another was when Ronjay Buenafe was whistled for a foul on a driving Miller that led to the Kings taking a 101-95 lead after the former two-time MVP hit two free throws heading into the final 2:14.
“They called that foul on Ronjay at a very crucial time, when there was no more time for them (referees) to make up for that bum call,” Guiao said.
After those Miller free throws, Buenafe hit a triple and Larry that lay-up as the Express made a game out of it again after most thought that it would be a cruise for the Kings in the final 4:46 after Ginebra had taken a 97-85 lead.
Larry, Air21’s third import here after Keena Young and Jason Forte, led the Express with 30 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out as he was whistled for an obvious offensive foul on Willie Wilson with 33.5 seconds to go.
Ronjay Buenafe had 24 and Beau Belga 13 for Guiao.
Mildon Ambres scored a quiet 28 points that went with 18 boards and Eric Menk, in earning Player of the Game honors from the television panel, had 19 with Miller scoring 12 and Mark Caguioa 10 before being thrown out.
Caguioa threw the ball at referee Throngy Aldaba while trying to save possession for the Kings. He was immediately thrown out at the 5:07 mark of the second quarter.
“It’s definitely nice to win again,” Derby Ace coach Ryan Gregorio said, expressing huge relief after averting what would have been another fold-up by his Llamados against the Elasto Painters.
“We are conscious of the fact that we’re having a hard time finishing off games because we can’t score that well,” Gregorio continued. “Seventy-five points is not something that you can be happy about.” Former MVP James Yap paced the Llamados with 20 points, while Cliff Brown, their new import playing just his second game, scattered 18 and had 19 boards. Still, it wasn’t a performance that sealed his place in the team.
“It’s hard to say that he’s for keeps,” Gregorio said. “Of course, if we continue winning, it will increase his lifeline. We’ll definitely use his Sunday against Ginebra.” Rain or Shine was held to its lowest output this season as the Painters played so bad that only import Jai Lewis scored in twin digits with 14.
