PBA: Powerade Tigers sizzle from outside, ground Air21

(Updated 7:30pm) Gary David had 32 points, 18 coming from outside the arc, and the rest of his teammates followed suit, knocking in triple after triple, as the Powerade Tigers blew out the Air21 Express from downtown, 121-92, Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum, in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup. David, the league’s scoring champion the last two seasons, converted 6-of-10 from three-point range and led a third quarter surge when the Tigers pulled away for good against a listless Express side. Powerade outscored Air21 during that stretch, 33-16, turning a slim seven-point halftime lead to 87-63 entering the fourth. The Tigers, who fell in their previous game to the Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters in a rematch of the All-Filipino Cup Finals series, are now in solo third with a 4-3 (win-loss) slate, and have a chance to clinch a playoff berth with a win against the B-Meg Llamados on the 25th. “Looking ahead, it’s going down the wire towards the last two games. We need to win one, or better yet, two,” said Powerade coach Bo Perasol. Marcio Lassiter, the much-coveted rookie, added 22 points for Powerade, while Sean Anthony and Francis Allera added 10 each. Air21 lost for the second straight game after a similar lopsided loss to the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters Friday night, 113-83. The Express fell to a tie for the sixth to eighth spots along with the Barako Bull Energy and the Petron Blaze Boosters, as all three sport 3-4 records. “The first thing we did was to respect Air21. Teams which had underestimated this team paid a big price,” admitted Perasol. Aware of what the Express were capable of, the Tigers attacked their opponents by raining down on them a remarkable 18-of-35 clip from three-point range. Powerade also outworked them off the boards, 64-36. The Powerade lead was at its biggest at 101-67 on a three-pointer by David at the 8:14 mark of the final period. - AMD, GMA News The scores: POWERADE 121 - David 32, Lassiter 22, Anthony 10, Allera 10, Jones 8, Vanlandingham 7, Casio 6, Adducul 6, Martinez 5, Lingganay 5, Cruz 4, Crisano 3, Antonio 3, Kramer 0, Calimag 0. AIR 21 92 - Douthit 18, Omolon 17, Duncil 10, Isip 10, Hubalde 8, Sena 6, Jazul 5, Aquino 4, Ritualo 4, Mirza 3, Espiritu 3, Sison 2, Escobal 2. Quarter scoring: 30-22, 54-47, 87-63, 121-92