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Fastbreak: Air21’s DLSU duo, Ginebra’s big Christmas win

Enzo Flojo

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Former La Salle standouts Joseph Yeo and Mac Cardona shines for Air21; Ginebra gives its legions of fans a gift with a huge win over Petron

CHRISTMAS WINS. Air21 and Ginebra came away with wins in PBA's Christmas day games. Photo by KC Cruz/PBA Images

Air 21 over GlobalPort, 109-103

The Best: Asi “The Rock” Taulava was as solid as, well, a rock. Asi shot 11/17 from the field, grabbed 13 rebounds, and blocked 1 shot in 44 minutes. Let that sink in – Asi is almost that old! He dropped 28 points to keep the Express in the thick of things throughout the game, especially after they fell behind by as many as 17 points in the second half. He did foul out early in the overtime period, but his contributions were enough to put his team in a great position to win.

The Worst: Statistically speaking, the key things that did the Batang Pier in were rebounding and taking care of the basketball. GlobalPort allowed three Express players – Taulava, Joseph Yeo, and Vic Manuel – to get double-digit rebounds. As a team, the Batang Pier were outworked on the glass, 53-50, which led to them getting outscored, 15-4, in terms of second-chance points. Also, GlobalPort turned the ball over 5 more times than Air 21, with Jay Washington on top of the list, coughing the ball up four times.

De La Salle Connection: Former collegiate running mates Joseph Yeo and Mac Cardona have been reunited in the Air 21 roster, along with former coach Franz Pumaren, and that DLSU connection shone through on Christmas Day. Yeo recorded his first-ever career triple-double, scoring 19 points, collaring 10 rebounds, and dishing out 14 assists while also netting 2 steals. Cardona, meanwhile, broke out with 28 markers on 12/20 FG shooting, 4 rebounds, and 2 dimes in just 29 minutes of play. If Air 21 can have these guys playing this way consistently, then the Express might just turn their fortunes around.

Ginebra over Petron Blaze, 97-83

The Best: Japeth Aguilar shone under the bright lights of Christmas Day and in front of more than 20,000 screaming fans at the Mall of Asia Arena. The Gilas mainstay shot 8/14 from the floor on his way to a game-high 25 points on top of 11 rebounds and 2 rejections. Aguilar also impressed from the line, making 9 of his 12 free throws as the Gin Kings dealt Petron its second straight defeat. Consequently, Ginebra annexed first place with this win. A helluva Christmas gift for their many fans!

The Worst: Petron Blaze managed to compete and do well in the paint despite not having the season’s current best big man, June Mar Fajardo. The Boosters outrebounded Ginebra, 53-48, with both Arwind Santos and Doug Kramer gobbling up a total of 26 rebounds. They wasted this unexpected advantage, though, as they shot a poor 36% from the field, including just 2/16 from rainbow country. The chief brick-builders were Chris Lutz, Alex Cabagnot, and Marcio Lassiter, who combined for 7/29 shooting.

Mistletoe Missiles: Other guys who did really well for Ginebra were Mark Caguioa, Greg Slaughter, and Mac Baracael. Caguioa, on his 500th PBA game, shot 9/13 from the field on his way to 18 points, while Baracael drained three triples on his way to 11 markers. Slaughter, for his part, tossed in 17 points, hauled down 8 rebounds, and blocked 2 shots in another solid effort in the middle. This compensated for the 0-point output of star playmaker LA Tenorio, who missed all eight field goal attempts and turned the ball over four times. – Rappler.com

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