SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – Herve Lamizana fired all of his 24 points in the second half as Air21 silenced a bad-shooting Barako Bull crew, 103-85, to pick up their second win in the PLDT Home TVolution PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Friday, March 14 at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
After going scoreless in the first two quarters, Lamizana caught fire, shooting 9 of 12 for 20 of the team’s points in the third quarter alone that sealed the story for Air21.
The Express buckled down on defense to shackle Energy import Josh Dollard to just 12 points, way below his 44.5-point average heading into the match; Air21 also exploded for 29 second quarter points too that broke the game wide open.
Newly-acquired Aldrech Ramos added 17 markers including a pristine 4 of 4 from three-point land.
The Express started pulling away from a tight ball game midway in the second period, with Mac Cardona and Aldrech Ramos combining for 12 points in a run that transformed a 16-17 deficit into a 43-26 bubble.
Air21 shot 68% from the field in the second quarter to carry a huge lead heading into the break and never looked back.
With only Denok Miranda carrying the load for the Energy, Air21 kept Barako Bull at bay for the entire third quarter. A Herve Lamizana trey made it 72-53 for the Express with just over a minute left in the penultimate quarter.
Josh Dollard struggled in the final frame as Barako went all-Filipino for most of the second half. Air21 meanwhile continued their onslaught, leading by as much as 35 to allow coach Franz Pumaren’s troops to seal their second win in three outings. Barako Bull meanwhile fell to 1-2 in the conference.
Earlier in the first quarter, a defensive board by Asi Taulava enabled him to move to top 7th overall in the PBA’s all time list for most defensive rebounds.
Scores:
Air 21 103: Lamizana 24, Ramos 17, Cardona 15, Taulava 14, Burtscher 8, Matias 7, Villanueva 5, Yeo 5, Jaime 2, Poligrates 2, Sharma 2, Atkins 2, Borboran 0, Camson 0.
Barako Bull 85: Intal 18, Miranda 18, Dollard 12, Miller 10 Pennisi 9, Lastimosa 6, Jensen 4, Buenafe 4, Fortuna 3, Wilson 1, Deutchman 0, Isip 0, Marcelo 0, Pena 0.
Quarter scores: 16-17, 45-32, 75-57, 103-85.
– Rappler.com
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