Magnolia beats Air21, ties PBA semis series 2-2

MANILA, Philippines – Amal McCaskill buried a turn-around jumper in the dying seconds to lift Magnolia past Air21, 104-102, Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum and level their Smart-Philippine Basketball Association Fiesta Cup semifinals series. The Magnolia import finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and four blocked shots. He scored 10 of his total output in the final quarter, with none more important than the jump shot he took in the final 1.4 seconds off the outstretched arms of Air21 counterpart Steve Thomas in a highly physical Game Four. The basket erased a 102-102 count as Magnolia’s win equalized the best-of-seven series. Without a timeout, the Express went for an outlet play intended for Arwind Santos, but Danny Ildefonso intercepted the pass to preserve the victory. Game Five is set Wednesday also at the Big Dome. "It feels great to win, but we still have a long way to go," said McCaskill. The loss put to naught the 32-point production of Gary David, who fouled out entering the homestretch of the nip-and-tuck game after committing two consecutive offensive fouls. Thomas added 20 and 18 big rebounds for Air21, including a semihook with 11 seconds left that tied the game for the last time at 102-all. Prior to Thomas’s equalizer, the Beverage Masters were trailing 100-99 before an open Lordy Tugade nailed a three-pointer to make it a two-point Magnolia lead. Tugade also had 19, going three-of-six from three-point range. The game was marred by a total of eight technical fouls, six called on the Express and two on the Beverage Masters. A near scuffle almost erupted at halftime. While both teams were going to their respective locker rooms, Thomas and Dorian Peña, who both received a technical each in the first half, exchanged heated words that resulted in a shoving incident among players from both sides. But cooler heads prevented the incident from further escalating. – GMANews.TV