WINLESS EXPRESS TAKE ON ENERGY

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Barako Bull and Air21 are on their second dance in the PLDT myDSL PBA Philippine Cup. This time, the Express hope they would get to choose the music.

The Energy had the Express dizzy from spinning around in circles when they first took the floor on Nov. 20, with Barako Bull waltzing to an 88-75 victory at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Barako would win its next game against Alaska (97-93) before falling to heavyweights Rain or Shine (91-83) and Petron Blaze (96-60). Air21, meanwhile, lost its next three assignments to go 0-4, the last a heartbreaking 97-91 defeat to Alaska in overtime.

The intra-inter elimination round format calls for teams from separate groups to play each other twice. Air21 is bracketed in Group A with Alaska, Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, Petron Blaze and Rain or Shine. Barako Bull, on the other hand, is in Group B with Meralco, San Mig Super Coffee, GlobalPort and defending champion Talk ‘N Text.

On a mission to vindicate management’s decision to trade three first round picks for “tried and tested” players, the Energy got 16 points from Mark Isip, 11 from Ronjay Buenafe and 10 each from Mark Macapagal and Denok Miranda.

Isip and Miranda were part of pre-Draft deals that allowed Barangay Ginebra to snare James Forrester with the No. 4 pick, and GlobalPort to grab Terrence Romeo and RR Garcia consecutively with the 5th and 6th choices.

All three picks previously belonged to Barako Bull.

The Energy, however, silenced critics with 10 3-pointers against Air21, with Buenafe draining 3 and Miranda, JC Intal and Keith Jensen 2 each. They took command after the first quarter, 1 deadlock and 5 lead changes, storming to a 48-28 spread in the second period before posting their biggest advantage at 63-30.

Joseph Yeo led Air21 with 22 points, KG Canaleta had 18 with 10 rebounds and Asi Taulava 10 and 16. The Express had non-existent defense, however, displayed little chemistry (19 to 11 assists), and turned the ball over by the truckload, giving Barako Bull 23 points off those miscues while collecting none.

Both teams could have learned immensely from their succeeding games and their rematch shouldn’t be as lopsided, especially judging from the way the Express held their own against the Aces before folding in the crunch.

Barako Bull’s vets had long answered questions regarding their worth, with Dorian Pena and Mick Pennisi keeping 6-foot-10 Petron center June Mar Fajardo busy during their game before falling into foul trouble.

Part 2 of the Taulava-Pena or Taulava-Pennisi showdown in the paint should bring back old memories and lots of grunts, while the outside firepower should be just about equal, with Buenafe and Jensen for the Energy and Canaleta and Renren Ritualo for the Express.

The absence of a reliable point guard who can provide leadership and create scoring opportunities is what’s hurting Air21, though, and it’s a deficiency Barako Bull will be exploiting anew. (WJRHT)

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