MANILA, 25 May 2006 — Whoever said that Air21 lives and dies by Ren-Ren Ritualo could be slamming his head against the wall.
The franchise that was laughed at after dealing away its franchise player in a one-sided trade close to a month ago just won for the third straight time last night, and it was by no means a patsy foe that got sideswiped by the chug-chugging Express’ freight train.
Nino Canaleta scored 31 points and brothers Yancy and Ranidel De Ocampo contributed immensely when it mattered as the Express brought down San Miguel, 110-98, to stay in the running for an automatic quarterfinal seat in the PBA Philippine Cup.
It was a career game for the high-flying Canaleta, viewed by management and coaching staff as the next Air21 cornerstone after they had dealt Ritualo to Talk ‘N Text in exchange for seldom-used role player Leo Avenido.
The win enabled the Express to close out their classification phase assignment with a 7-9 card and with a shot at earning the fifth slot in the first round of the playoffs - though their fate does not exactly rest in their hands.
The Gin Kings, severely depleted by injuries to key men, need to win their remaining assignment against qualifier Red Bull at the Ynares Center in Antipolo tomorrow to forge a tie for a playoff for the No. 5 slot.
Ginebra also needs to hope that Coca-Cola loses to slumping Talk ‘N Text in the other game scheduled tomorrow, otherwise, the idle Tigers will book the No. 5 slot and relegate the Kings and the Express to the wild card phase together with Sta. Lucia and the Phone Pals.
Yancy and Ranidel contributed heavily in an 18-4 run in the onset of the fourth quarter which eventually decided the contest. The brothers alternated in combining for 15 straight points that opened up the game, 98-87.
But it was Canaleta who really stood out after missing just four of 17 tries from the field and making all of four free throws awarded him.
Canaleta actually has a chance of duplicating a feat two revered names have done so in the recent past - Danny Seigle and Eric Menk — and that is to end a tournament leading his team in scoring as a rookie. San Miguel, incidentally, dropped to No. 2 for the semifinals, meaning, the Beermen will be colliding with the No. 3 qualifier in a best-of-seven series for a seat in the championship series.
Alaska, meanwhile, collared the second automatic seat in the quarterfinals after outsteadying Barangay Ginebra, 98-95, in the second game at the Araneta Coliseum.
The Aces closed out with a 9-7 and are unreachable in fourth spot.
Purefoods and San Miguel are the teams already in the Final Four, while Red Bull assured itself of a stint in the first round of the playoffs by winning a sixth straight game Sunday night against the Realtors.
Ginebra fought hard and nearly pulled this one out of the fire as Sunday Salvacion, seeing action only in the end game because of an injury, rifled in a triple that brought the Kings to within 95-96. But Mike Cortez sealed the game for the Aces, connecting on two charities with 9.1 seconds left to round out scoring and deal the Kings an eighth loss in 15 games.
Jay-Jay Helterbrand had a chance to forge extension but threw a desperation three-pointer way off the mark at the buzzer. And that Salvacion shot was like a nightmare relived for coach Tim Cone. Reynel Hugnatan snatched a career-high 16 boards, including a key offensive rebounds that led to two Tony Dela Cruz free throws for a 96-92 Alaska lead. on two free throws by Tony dela Cruz with time down to 11.4 seconds.
Mark Caguioa, who served a one-game suspension for unsportsmanlike conduct in the last Ginebra loss, paced the Kings with 26 points.
