PHI – Air21 to take on TnT; Ginebra meet Smart Gilas

MANILA - (PBA Commissioner’s Cup) - Air21 Express and Ginebra Kings scored contrasting wins in the decisive Games 3 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday to book their places in the semi-finals starting on Friday.

Air21 huffed, puffed and dug deep from their reserves to beat Alaska Aces 97-94 for their second successive win in the series to set up a semi-final clash with Elimination Round top seeds and All Philippine Cup champions Talk N Text.

Ginebra Kings meanwhile, who had won the opener before falling in game two, dished out a clinical victory beating Rain or Shine 92-82 for a semi-final showdown with Smart Gilas, the core of the Philippines National Team preparing for this year’s 26th FIBA Asia Championship.

The semi-finals are played as best-of-five series.

Oscillating Air21

Air21 stared down the wrong end of the barrel when they trailed by 18 points at one point in the second quarter.

But Josh Urbiztondo’s long range shooting prowesses sparked a third quarter resurgence and Air21 outscored their rivals 46-20 to take charge of the proceedings. Urbiztondo scored 14 of his game’s 17 points in this period, including four three-pointers.

But Alaska rallied an brought scores back to within three, almost forcing overtime when LD Williams’ long ranger bounced off the rim at the buzzer.

Sierra Leonean import Alpha Bangura led the game for scoring for Air21 with 28 points and  8 rebounds. Dondon Hontiveros had 24 points.

LD Williams led Alaska’s scoring with 26 points returning the only double double of the game pulling with his 10 rebounds.

“Credit to my players, they really want to go on to the next round,” said Air21 coach Bong Ramos.

“It’s everybody’s dream to play in the finals and get the championship. We dream of that and we’re excited in our playoff battle with Talk n Text,” he added.

“We’ll not be contented winning this series. We’re excited to play in the semifinals and we’ll do our best to win it,” said key man Urbiztondo.

Clinical Ginebra

Ginebra kept themselves marginally ahead throughout the game before tightening the noose with a 25-17 run in the fourth quarter.

Import Nate Brumfield was restricted to only 12 points, but Mark Caguioa more than made amends with 30 points and 11 rebounds.

Hassan Adams, RoS’ import led their scoring with 25 points. The American also collected 12 rebounds.

“It was tough; very close till the end. They just couldn’t make their shots while we made ours in the end. That’s the story of the game,” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico.

“Smart Gilas will always be tough. They’re very fluid. They’re young that they can run for 48 minutes,” said Uichico about Ginebra's semi-final opponents.

“We’ve got a shot. You can make proper adjustments in a series. It’s not a one-game play-off,” he concluded.

FIBA Asia