PBA: Singletary sizzles with 41 to lead Barako past Air 21

Barako Bull Energy Cola leaned on clutch plays from Mike Singletary and Eman Monfort to defeat the Air21 Express, 103-94, on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena, in the 2013 PBA Governors' Cup.

"We're playing great basketball," said Barako Bull consultant Rajko Toroman. "We know Air21 [is] not good inside. We tried to penetrate."

Singletary led Barako with 41 points, 12 rebounds, two steals and two blocks, as the team won their second game in a row to move up to 2-1. Air21 on the other hand slumped to 1-2.

Air21 made it a ballgame early in the first, as Niño Canaleta and Mark Isip converted from long range to give the Express a 9-8 lead. Barako responded with multiple makes soon after, as JC Intal, Singletary and Eman Monfort established a 20-12 lead.

Zach Graham tried to stop the bleeding for Air21 after a three-point play. His teammates responded in kind as Mike Cortez and Vic Manuel cut the lead down to three, 24-21. Charities from the two imports ended the period with Barako ahead, 29-23.

Former Barako player Carlo Sharma and Nelbert Omolon strung six together to start the second, tying the game at 29-all, before Danny Seigle and Celino Cruz hit back with seven of their own. Another layup from Seigle established a double-digit advantage for Barako, 41-31.

Bong Ramos' charges were not yet finished though, as Singletary and Buenafe found their range to boost their advantage to 15, 54-39. Six straight from Sharma and Manuel cut the lead to 11, but Buenafe got one to fall from deep before hitting three charities to establish a 62-45 score, still in Barako's favor. A turnaround jumper from Graham gave Air21 two more markers, but Singletary ended the half with another long bomb, 65-47.


Canaleta and Graham tried to mount an early comeback in the third, cutting the lead to 14, 69-55, as Singletary negated a Cortez triple with five markers of his own. After an Ogie Menor basket, Cortez dropped another triple to cut the lead to 13, before Bonbon Custodio got two more points for the Express, to reduce their deficit to an even 10 points, 79-69.

Air21 wasn't out of the woods yet though, as Danny Seigle ended the period with one last make, to push the lead back up to 12, 83-71.

In the fourth quarter, three free throws from Cruz and Seigle were canceled out by makes from Custodio and Graham, 86-78. The pair strung together five more, cutting the lead down to four, 90-86. Singletary tried to pad the lead for Barako with a three, but a Graham jumper followed by a Canaleta trey made it just a two-point affair, 94-92.

Keith Jensen and Eman Monfort would have none of it though, as they scored five clutch points to keep Air21 at bay, 99-93.

A Singletary one-hander with 1:16 remaining had Air21 coach Franz Pumaren pressing the timeout button, 101-93. Custodio found trouble on the inbounds, forcing the Express to burn another timeout. Air21 then couldn't convert, but a Barako turnover led to another possession for the Express.

A hurried corner three missed by Graham sealed the deal for Barako.

Ronjay Buenafe and Danny Seigle each scored 18 in support of Singeltary, along with a combined eight rebounds. Eman Monfort chimed in with 12 points and six assists, versus just one turnover.

Zach Graham scored 34 for Air21, forming a double-double with his 10 rebounds. Canaleta and Sharma added 12 apiece, while Mike Cortez dropped 10 markers, along with four dimes.

Air21 lost desire shooting 51.3 percent from the field, as Barako got a 37-18 advantage in free throws. - Renee Fopalan / AMD, GMA News


The scores:

Barako 103 - Singletary 41, Buenafe 18, Seigle 18, Monfort 12, Cruz 8, Intal 4, Jensen 2, Marcelo 0, Bulawan 0, Weinstein 0, Macapagal 0, Pennisi 0, Pena 0

Air21 94 - Graham 34, Canaleta 12, Sharma 12, Cortez 10, Isip 9, Custodio 6, Menor 5, Manuel 4, Omolon 2, Sena 0, Ritualo 0, Arboleda 0

Quarter scoring: 29-23, 65-47, 83-71, 103-94