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CARDONA SHINES AS AIR21 GETS BACK ON TRACK
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Mac Cardona came up big in the clutch to help Air21 score a 91-88 win over Alaska Friday in the 2014 PLDT Home Telpad PBA Governors’ Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Known as “Captain Hook,” Cardona drilled nine of his 14 points in the payoff period, including five straight points in the final 1:23 to swing the lead in the Express’ favor and give Air21 its third win in four games.
“Macmac really stepped up. He made some ridiculous shots, big shots that gave us a cushion,” said Air21 head coach Franz Pumaren.
Dominique Sutton had a double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds, and added three assists and four steals, while ageless Asi Taulava also contributed a double-double of his own with his 15 markers and 15 boards, which came alongside his six dimes.
“I’m still in awe with Asi,” Pumaren said. “It has been a long season for us, and he can still keep pace with the younger ones. He can still give them a competitive game. Those stats are really amazing. Who would believe that a 41-year-old can play 41 minutes?
“He wants us to really go far this conference. He wants us to prove something, whether it may be individual or team glory,” Pumaren added.
The Express bounced back in this hard-fought game after incurring its first loss last Tuesday against Barangay Ginebra 84-76.
“It was a nice win for us. Actually, we won three games already but I think this one is so fulfilling because in spite of us playing terrible, whether it’s offense or defense, we survived it,” he said.
Despite their early struggles in the game, which saw them fall behind 38-35 by halftime, Pumaren calmed his wards and told them to focus on the game at hand.
“I had a talk with the players during halftime and I told them that what’s important is that we don’t show our frustration. Despite us being down, we still clawed back to make sure that this game is so important,” he said. “I’m so proud of my boys. They didn’t quit.”
Mark Borboran (11) and Joseph Yeo (10) also logged in double-digits in scoring for the Express who have already matched their total no. of wins in last year’s tourney where they finished tenth and last and failed to advance to the playoffs.
Air21 grabbed a share of the second spot with San Miguel Beer with their similar 3-1 slates behind the 3-0 of the league-leading Kings.
Alaska fell to an even 2-2 even with JVee Casio roaring in the fourth quarter and drilling three straight treys to power an Alaska 11-2 run which gave his team the lead, 86-82, with 2:37 to play.
Pumaren was only too glad his team survived the fourth quarter onslaught of the Alaska starting point guard.
“It’s too bad if we didn’t win this game, I’ll be disappointed with my inaanak because JVee Casio could have almost single-handedly beaten us,” he said.
In the ensuing play, Aldrech Ramos converted two of his three freebies after being fouled by Alaska import William Henry Walker, and the Express forced Casio to turn the ball out of bounds, setting up the stage for a thrilling finish in the last two minutes.
Yeo assisted on Cardona’s three-point basket, and followed it up with a fearless drive against Cyrus Baguio and Sonny Thoss to put the Express up, 89-86, in the final 52.8 seconds.
Walker and Casio then missed treys, which led to an open Ramos nailing his right baseline jumper to give Air21 a five-point edge, 91-86, with 13.4 ticks remaining.
“The shot was there. I really trust Ramos,” Pumaren said. “He wasn’t really active with the ball. Maybe he wanted to drive a point in the other game, because he was riding the bench for the longest time in that game. He was begging to get that shot.”
Thoss scored on a putback from a Casio three-point miss, but time just wasn’t on the side of the Aces who ran out of time.
“At least we’re reeling in some more won games, which is really important,” Pumaren said.
Casio top-scored for the Aces as he had nine of his 18 in the fourth after going 6-of-9 from behind the arc.
Walker almost had a triple-double with 13 markers, 12 boards, and eight assists while Gabby Espinas and Baguio both wound up with identical 12 points. (RL)
The scores: (Click HERE for full boxscores)
AIR21 91 – Sutton 22, Taulava 15, Cardona 14, Borboran 11, Yeo 10, Ramos 6, Atkins 6, J. Villanueva 3, Poligrates 2, Camson 2, E. Villanueva 0, Jaime 0, Burtscher 0.
ALASKA 88 – Casio 18, Walker 13, Espinas 12, Baguio 12, Jazul 8, Abueva 7, Thoss 6, Belasco 5, Hontiveros 5, Manuel 2, Dela Cruz 0.
Quarterscores: 19-29, 35-38, 67-64, 91-88.
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