Air21 has a new look, but most of the baskets in the endgame still came from one familiar face.

KG Canaleta, the former Slam Dunk king turned deadly outside gun, scored 30 points and was big in the fourth quarter on Friday night as the Express snapped a four-game losing streak with a 106-102 win over Talk ‘N Text in the PBA Governors’ Cup.

Man-mountain Asi Taulava made his return to the league with Air21 on a night that the PBA played at the PhilSports Arena (formerly ULTRA), its home during its most glorious seasons, for the first time in more than seven years.

Joseph Yeo and Eric Salamat were also new additions for the Express, who gave up Mike Cortez to Meralco in order to land Taulava, a 40-year-old veteran of 13 PBA seasons who has been out of competitive action for close to three months.

And just when everyone was looking for Taulava to play hero in his first game back, Canaleta reprised a familiar role of bailing the Express out, shooting 14 points in the fourth period as Air21 improved to 2-5, now tied with the Tropang Texters.

Nine of those Canaleta points came in a string, and it allowed for the Express to scoot away eventually with import Zach Graham and the flashy Bonbon Custodio giving support.

“I told the guys to just keep the game close and give me a chance to coach (in the endgame),” Air21 coach Franz Pumaren told reporters later after mathematically staying alive of advancing to the playoffs.

“We were inspired by the sudden shake-up in our line-up,” he added.

Canaleta could have been inspired. But what he proved was that the team still was his.

The 6-foot-6 Canaleta, a high-flyer who has become one of the deadliest three-point shooters in the league, hit three of his six triples in the fourth period, the last touching off that nine-point burst that gave the Express a 96-95 lead heading into the final 3:12.

Talk ‘N Text was in the lead for the last time at 99-98 after Jimmy Alapag hit a booming triple from way out with 2:34 left.

Graham then scored two baskets that sandwiched a Custodio layup for a 104-101 lead before Talk ‘N Text import Tony Mitchell sealed the Tropang Texters’ doom – and their third straight loss – by missing a triple try on the other end.

Mitchell did wind up with 27 points and nine rebounds for Talk ‘N Text, which is looking for a replacement, someone who would be willing to play more defense. The Texters are the worst defensive team in the league.

And with the Air21 win – because of the winner-over-the-other rule – the Texters are now in the cellar, quite an unfamiliar place for the most dominant team of the decade and certainly odd for the squad that won the Philippine Cup this season.

Meanwhile, Petron Blaze formally nailed top-seeding in the first round of the playoffs to draw the lightest possible assignment after downing Alaska, 103-100, in the nightcap.

It was the seventh straight victory in a 7-1 card for the Boosters, who got 35 points from Elijah Millsap, 19 from Marcio Lassiter and 16 from relief point guard Chico Lanete.

Alaska missed the chance of forging extension with Dondon Hontiveros’ three-pointer at the buzzer spun out. The Aces, the reigning Commissioner’s Cup champions, lost for the third straight game and are now at 3-4.

“Our mindset coming into the game was that we still wanted to play (hard) no matter what our situation was,” Petron coach Gee Abanilla said when asked what the motivation for his squad was.

Petron had booked a top four berth – and a twice-to-beat privilege – on Wednesday after a 122-88 win over Talk ‘N Text and could have taken things easy against the struggling Aces.

“We wanted to build character in our team,” added Abanilla. “People are expecting us to win every time. Alaska is a tough team, they really gave us a tough time.” Wendell McKines led the Aces with 33 points, and Sonny Thoss added 17. Alaska has two games left and would need a sweep in order to avoid complications in advancing to the quarterfinals.