PBA: With Cortez at the helm, Air21 gets win over Barako Bull

(Updated 7:43 p.m.) Mike Cortez sank a step-back jumper with 58.1 seconds left and the Air21 Express defense got a huge stop late, beating the slumping Barako Bull Energy Cola 86-85 at the Cuneta Astrodome, Friday. Cortez, who was acquired Wednesday in a swap that sent 2012 11th overall pick Yousef Taha to Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, was reunited with collegiate coach Franz Pumaren, and the duo seemed to click, at least for the first game, as "The Cool Cat" scored 24 big points with six rebounds, six assists, and five steals in addition to the win. "Where can you find a better script than that? He scored the last five points to turn things around," said Pumaren. Mick Pennissi and Rico Villanueva attacked the rim for four straight in the final three minutes to give Barako a four-point cushion, before Cortez hit a trey at the 1:16 mark to make it a one-point ball game, 85-84. Cortez would hit another tough step back jumper against the taller Sean Anthony with 58 ticks remaining to give the Express the lead, 86-85.   In the ensuing play, Rob Reyes would serve an emphatic block on Doug Kramer, as Urbiztondo missed on a running shot. Barako got lucky, though, when Bitoy Omolon failed to secure the rebound, giving the Energy 34 seconds to regain the lead.   Barako failed to get anything off, getting slapped with a 24-second shotclock violation, as the Air 21 big men shadowed the shaded lane to prevent any easy shot in the paint.   The Express set up on their half of the court with 2.5 seconds remaining. Barako fouled Cortez with 1.3 seconds to go, as Air 21 seccessfully inbounded the ball as time expired.   Barako held a one point lead entering the second quarter, before Josh Urbiztondo hit a trey to give the Energy a 22-18 advantage. Cortez then went to work, dishing out four assists for 10 points while scoring two of his own to push Air 21 ahead, 28-23. The presence of the Cool Cat paved the way for open looks for John Wilson and James Sena, forcing Barako to call a timeout at the 7:44 mark.   When Cortez sat down for a break, Ronald Tubid and Urbiztondo took over to cut the deficit to one, before Enrico Villanueva had back to back hits to put Barako up by two, 35-33.    Cortez marked his return by hitting a three at the 1:50 mark to put Air 21 ahead again, 36-35, before Penissi strung five straight to get the lead back for Barako. A Tubid layup on the break and a last-second shot by Vilannueva made it 44-38 at the half.   The Cool Cat was the star for the Express in the first half, scoring nine points with four boards, five assists and two steals in 11 minutes of play.    Six early points from Tubid gave Barako a 10-point lead to start the third, 50-40, before KG Canaleta and Penissi exchanged treys, 53-48. Tubid would join the part with his own three, before Custodio cruised for a layup, 56-50.    Back to back treys from Urbiztondo and Tubid along with a Najorda conversion put Barako ahead by eight in the final minute, before Mike Cortez hit eight straight points to tie it up at the end of the third, 67-all.   James Sena led the Express' offense to regain the lead to start the fourth, while Anthony tried to hold the fort for Barako with game-tying hits in the post, to tie the game at 75-all.    A Nonoy Baclao putback gave the Express the lead yet again, before Wynne Arboleda hit a clutch trey with the shotclock winding down, to make it 79-75 for Air 21. Urbiztondo responded with his own trey at the other end to cut the lead to one, as Tubid followed it up with another to give Barako an 81-79 edge with 5:14 to go.   A Tubid miss at one end led to a 3-on-1 break for Air 21 with Custodio getting a layup to tie the game at 81-all. A Penissi putback with three and a half minutes remaining gave Barako the lead yet again, 83-81, before a Villanueva steal gave Barako another possession that led to an Urbiztondo brick.   Ronald Tubid had 24 points for Barako while Penissi and Urbiztondo added 15 and 14, respectively. Rico Villanueva went down grabbing his knee late in the fourth never to return, threatening the Raging Bull's renewed performance this season.   James Sena and Mark Isip were steady inside for Air 21 with 12 each, while John Wilson and KG Caneleta added 11 apiece.   Cortez and Pumaren had two championships in the UAAP with the De La Salle Green Archers. The Express looked happy with the trade they made, sending rookie big man Yousef Taha to Ginebra to get Cortez, who had an efficient outing scoring 24 of his points in 24 minutes of play. - Renee Fopalan/AMD/KBK, GMA News The scores: AIR21 86 - Cortez 24, Sena 12, Isip 12, Wilson 11, Canaleta 11, Custodio 10, Arboleda 4, Baclao 2, Escobal 0, Reyes 0, Omolon 0, Ritualo 0. BARAKO 85 - Tubid 24, Pennisi 15, Urbiztondo 14, Anthony 13, Villanueva 13, Najorda 3, Marcelo 2, Kramer 1, Alvarez 0, Yap 0. Quarters: 18-19, 38-44, 67-67, 86-85