Fastbreak: Air21, Barako Bull score upsets over TNT, Petron

Air 21 over Talk N Text, 102-100

The Best: It was both Upset Wednesday and Oldies but Goodies Night in the PBA yesterday. The first upset came in the form of the cellar-dwelling Express dealing the defending Philippine Cup champions Tropang Texters their fourth loss of the season. Forty-year-old veteran behemoth Asi Taulava continued to defy his age, scoring 23 points and grabbing 18 rebounds while shooting 8/10 from the field. Asi looks really motivated this season, even as younger and bigger centers have entered the league. Looks like The Rock is out to prove something.

The Worst: In contrast some of TNT’s bigs struggled mightily in this game, with Kelly Williams, Sean Anthony, and Harvey Carey dropping just 6 points and 8 rebounds total. TNT was also on the receiving end of a barrage from the Express, who shot better than 52% from the floor overall.

Ninja Moves: Looks as if Joseph Yeo is getting acclimatized to his new role as chief facilitator for coach Franz Pumaren. Despite not being a natural PG, Yeo has been the major playmaker for Air 21. In this encounter, he came up with 12 assists to go along with 13 points. He’s norming a career-high 6.3 assists per game this season. He’s currently third overall in assists.

Barako Bull over Petron Blaze, 92-88

The Best: The night’s second upset was courtesy of Barako Bull, who beat erstwhile second-placed Petron Blaze. Again, it was a veteran big man who stepped up in this one, as Dorian Peña unloaded 18 points, 10 boards, 3 assists and 1 steal on his former team. Peña’s averages in his last four games are 13 ppg and 10.5 rpg. #BigDawgIsBack

The Worst: Once again, size, or the lack of it, was a huge factor in Petron’s loss. Without super center June Mar Fajardo, the undersized Doug Kramer had to start at the slot. Kramer’s no slouch, but he also ain’t Fajardo, who might have done a better job containing the motivated Peña. Other bigs like Yousef Taha and Jason Deutchman had their turns at guarding Peña, too, but twas to no avail.

Another Former Booster’s Wrath: Denok Miranda, who also was once a Petron Blaze Booster like Peña, played great here. The former FEU Tamaraw reeled in 11 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, and handed out 9 assists for the Energy Cola, who moved up to solo fifth in the standings. A lot of people, Miranda included, were surprised when he was moved to Barako Bull this season, but it seems it was for the better as he’s averaging career-bests in both points and assists. – Rappler.com