PBA: Cortez leads Air21 to victory against Ginebra

Mike Cortez had no problems drubbing his former team. Traded in the middle of the 2012-13 Philippine Cup, the "Cool Cat" led the Air21 Express over Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, tallying 13 points, six boards, three assists and two steals en route to a 74-70 win, Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Unlike the other PBA teams, the Air21 Express did not tinker with their line-up during the break. However, they added a beast of an import in Michael Dunigan and it resulted in a conference-opening victory. Dunigan scored 26 points and added 19 rebounds, to outshine his Ginebra counterpart. The Express built an early lead in the first half and repeatedly quelled Ginebra's attempts for a comeback to start their Commissioner's Cup on a positive note. "It's always a nice feeling, beating Ginebra," said Air21 head coach Franz Pumaren. "If you look at the overall picture of our team right now, man-to-man we're the weakest team right now in terms of locals. Kami lang yung hindi nag-upgrade." In their first game, however, they didn't seem to need an upgrade as they played tremendously on defense, allowing Ginebra to make only 28.4 percent of their shots. With 1:42 remaining in the game, LA Tenorio sank two free throws to keep Ginebra close. The Kings were able to get a stop, but Herbert Hill turned the ball over as his pass was picked off by Wynne Arboleda. Michael Dunigan then sank another jump hook for a 72-67 lead with only 42 seconds left in the game. The Kings then blew their chances of inching back into the game as Mike Cortez picked off an inbound pass. He was fouled and converted a free throw. Reigning PBA MVP Mark Caguioa made a three to keep their hopes alive, but John Wilson was able to convert on a free throw for a 74-70 lead with 25 seconds left in the game. Caguioa tried another triple but KG Canaleta bothered the shot. A put-back attempt by Hill also missed which gave Air 21 their first victory of the conference. Caguioa led Ginebra with 26 points, while their import Herbert Hill added 17, after having only two points to show in the first half. The Kings sorely missed the scoring from floor general Tenorio however, who only contributed three points, as he missed all of his 11 field goal attempts. Ginebra groped for form offensively in the first half. They only scored only 13 points in the first quarter and they actually fared worse in the second with only eight points, half of these from free throws. The game was actually tied at 13-all near the tail end of the first quarter until Rob Reyes scored back-to-back baskets for a 17-13 Air 21 lead to end the first quarter. John Wilson then found his rhythm in the second quarter, leading the Express to a 31-21 advantage over a hapless Ginebra squad to start the second half. "We won not on offense but on the defensive side of the game," said Pumaren, whose team forced Ginebra to miss 53 field goals in the game. The Air21 head coach also lauded the performance of his import, pointing out, "Michael was a big factor on defense underneath and he was also able to give us points when we needed it. He just needs to get used to all the pushing and shoving." Dunigan opened the third quarter with a basket to stretch Air21's lead to 12, but Caguioa brought it back down to 10 with two free throws. Herbert Hill finally scored his first field goal of the game with 9:54 remaining in the third quarter which caused the Ginebra crowd to explode. An and-one play from Willie Wilson further sliced the Air21 lead to just four at 35-31 to give the Ginebra crowd more reason to celebrate. Mark Isip scored four straight points to give the Express some breathing room, but a three-point basket from Jayjay Helterbrand inched the Kings closer, 39-36 with less than six minutes remaining in the third quarter. After two free throws from Dunigan, Hill scored his second field goal of the game when he banked in a short hook. Caguioa tied the game at 41-all moments later with a trey. Ginebra finally got a taste of the lead as Hill converted a put-back slam off a Tenorio miss, but Dunignan got it right back with a jump hook. Helterbrand then scored on a three-point basket for a 47-45 Ginebra lead. Hill scored one basket and a free throw, but Cortez ended the quarter with a mid-range jump shot to trim the Ginebra lead to two at 50-48. After facing a 59-57 deficit, the Air21 Express scored five straight points to build a 62-59 lead. Cortez scored off a put-back and Wilson converted an and-one play to establish some separation. Dunigan added to Ginebra's misery by getting an and-one play of his own miss to increase their lead to six with only 5:23 left in the game. A Cortez triple gave the Express a 68-63 lead, but Caguioa banked in a floater on the other side. A tired Dunigan was able to find a cutting Wilson in the very next play for a 70-65 Air21 lead. - RAF, GMA News