PBA: Ginebra twin towers foil Air21 on both ends of the court

(Updated 7:58pm) Barangay Ginebra San Miguel dismissed the Air21 Express, 78-69, in the PLDT MyDSL 2014 PBA Philippine Cup, Wednesday, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Japeth Aguilar dropped 22 points, 12 rebounds, a career-best eight blocks, along with several highlight dunks that kept Ginebra's morale running high throughout the game. 2013 number one overall pick Greg Slaughter posted 19 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks, while sophomore swingman Chris Ellis tallied 10 points and 11 rebounds.

The Barangay built an 18 point lead in the third quarter, 52-34, but had to fend off an explosive finish from the Joseph Yeo-led Express, who cut the lead to four in the last four minutes of the game. However, Ginebra's interior defense made the difference in the end, allowing them to take home their third straight win.

"Hindi lumabas sa game yung defensive plan namin," rued Ginebra head coach Ato Agustin. "Buti nalang maganda yung defense namin during the crucial time."

But overall, Agustin felt his team did a good job, limiting Air21 gunner Mac Cardona to just four points on 2-of-13 shooting. "It's a big help na na-control namin si Mac-Mac Cardona," he said, adding that while Yeo had the hot hand, Cardona's lack of support helped put his team over the top.

Ginebra keep their spot at second place in the standings (6-1) while the Express lost their second match in a row (1-7).

Slaughter scored six of Ginebra's first eight points to start the game, but the Barangay was overpowered by Air21's active defense. Apart from Bonbon Custodio and KG Canaleta scoring off turnovers, Asi Taulava was active beneath the basket and helped give the Express a 13-8 lead.

The Barangay went into foul penalty with under four minutes to play, but Air21 managed only a 3-of-6 mark to end the quarter. Meanwhile, a Mark Caguioa trey helped trim the deficit to one, the first 12 minutes gone by, 16-15.

In the second quarter, Ginebra had more success attacking the hoop as Caguioa and Japeth Aguilar drew and-one's, including Aguilar's baseline jam over former Ginebra player Elmer Espiritu. The pair combined with Chris Ellis for a 15-4 blitz, capped by an Ellis layup on the break, 30-20.

Save for the occasional Taulava put-back during the last five minutes, the Express had no lift on offense. Ginebra though continued to roll through Slaughter in the paint and via transition buckets when they could. JJ Helterbrand also sank an 18-foot runner just before the halftime buzzer, 41-26.


EJ Camson shouldered the load for the Express after the break, but Air21 couldn't solve their interior defense. LA Tenorio and Aguilar tore apart the Express with pick and rolls, and a particularly vicious double pump, reverse dunk by Aguilar in transition increased their lead to 18, 52-34.

But during the last six minutes, Joseph Yeo took over for Air21 on offense. "The Ninja" displayed his arsenal of slashing moves, and hit two treys to score 12 straight points, 55-46, before Jay-R Reyes banked one in with 39 seconds left to give Ginebra a 57-46 cushion heading into the fourth.

Yeo came back for more in the fourth period, opening the frame with five straight to make it a six-point game, 57-51. Aguilar and Slaughter responded with above-the-rim play to offset triples from Canaleta, but the Express persevered with balanced inside-out scoring, and another Yeo layup cut the lead to four, 72-67.

Ginebra leaned on their twin towers to seal the win, as layups by Aguilar and Slaughter sandwiched a Mac Cardona jumper. On defense, their height deterred baskets inside by Camson and Yeo. Aguilar then drew a foul on the move with 44 seconds to play, and drained two free throws, 78-69, to put the game out of reach.

Joseph Yeo had a game-high 28 points and four rebounds, while KG Canaleta added 14 points and eight rebounds. Asi Taulava and EJ Camson each had eight points, plus 13 and 10 rebounds, respectively.

Ginebra shot 32-of-84 (38.1 percent) from the floor against Air21's 29-of-84 (34.5 percent) clip. BGSM led from the stripe, hitting 12-of-18 (66.7 percent) while the Express attempted just 10 charities and made six (60 percent).

The Barangay led in second-chance points, 16-8.

During halftime, Air21 hosted the formal retirement of PBA legend Vergel Meneses, a former league MVP, currently serving as an assistant coach with the Express. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

Ginebra 78 - Aguilar 22, Slaughter 19, Ellis 10, Caguioa 8, Baracael 7, Tenorio 4, Reyes 2, Helterbrand 2, Mamaril 2, Forrester 2, Monfort 0, Urbiztondo 0

Air21 69 - Yeo 28, Canaleta 14, Taulava 8, Camson 8, Cardona 4, Jaime 2, Burtscher 2, Custodio 2, Arboleda 1, Matias 0, Espiritu 0, Sharma 0, Ritualo 0

Quarter scoring: 15-16, 41-26, 57-46, 78-69