Simon Atkins' career game helped the Air21 Express spoil the Alaska Aces' bid for a twice-to-beat advantage in the 2013 PBA Governors' Cup playoffs, 121-107, Sunday, at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Atkins notched a career-high 22 points while hitting all his six three-point attempts, tying the all-time record for the most three-pointers made without a miss. Atkins, whose previous high was five points, etched his name next to Glenn Capacio, Vic Pablo, Dondon Hontiveros and Renren Ritualo.
The Express' quarterfinals hopes remain slim, though. To force a playoff for eighth place, they need Talk N' Text to prevail over Ginebra later today by at least 22 points or face elimination. Meanwhile, Alaska slides to seventh and will match up against the San Mig Coffee Mixers.
Air21 head coach Franz Pumaren took the win as a moral victory. "That's the down side when you make some changes during the course of the season," he said, referring to their midseason moves to land Asi Taulava and Joseph Yeo. "But the trade that was consummated will benefit us down the road into the first conference."
"It's too bad our destiny is not in our hands, but we're hoping for a miracle in this second game," said Pumaren. "I'm still mighty proud of our team, even if it was a roller-coaster situation for us."
Pumaren also praised Atkins after the game, whom he used to coach with the DLSU Green Archers. "The last three games, he played as a starting guard; he played [his] role on a high note," he said, chalking up Atkins' performance to his hard work in practice.
Import Zach Graham led Air21 with 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Joseph Yeo dropped 16 points and seven assists. KG Canaleta and Vic Manuel scored 16 and 12 points, respectively, while Bonbon Custodio scattered 10 markers in the high-scoring game.
Alaska did a good job limiting import Zach Graham, but the rest of Air21's cast found ways to score. Vic Manuel scrapped for inside points, while Simon Atkins drilled three three-pointers to tally 19 of their first 21 points. On the other side, the Express were unable to keep the Aces out of the paint, as Wendell McKines, Sonny Thoss and Cyrus Baguio took turns scoring, 25-21.
Graham wasn't a non-factor for long though, as he completed an and-one at 4:08, teaming with Bonbon Custodio for 12 of the Express' points, to close the period with a 14-3 run. After the first period, Air21 held a 35-28 advantage.
The Aces bore down hard on Air21 in the second quarter, as Calvin Abueva and Baguio's perimeter touch made the bulk of a 16-10 swing in the first five minutes. Alaska trailed 45-44 after a Baguio trey.
However, the pace shifted as the Express began to draw contact inside, with Asi Taulava and Graham barreling to the hoop. Jvee Casio tried to take charge of the flagging Aces by draining a pair of treys, but otherwise was unable to eke out any offense from his squad. Meanwhile, Joseph Yeo's quickness created problems for the Aces in the lane, and helped finish off a 19-10 exchange in the last seven minutes. The Express remained in control at halftime, 63-54.
After two quarters, Air21 converted a blistering 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) from beyond the arc, led by Atkins' 4-of-4. In contrast, the Aces were 5-of-14 (35.7 percent) and trailed 11-2 in fast break points.
Three minutes into the third quarter, Alaska pushed the ball hard off of Air21's misses to pull within a single possession, 67-64. Air21 called for time to settle things down, and wrested control from there. Atkins' sniping buoyed the Express' offense, while the team smothered Alaska at the other end of the floor, 83-70.
The Aces struggled to get decent looks in the half court, but McKines decided he'd seen enough. With four minutes left, the import put Alaska's offense on his back, accounting for 10 of their last 13 points, to enter the fourth quarter trailing by single digits, 90-83.
Luigi Trillo was slapped with technical foul before the fourth quarter began for continuous complaining, and KG Canaleta converted the bonus. This time, Alaska was able to set up Thoss for midrange shots, but Canaleta left their interior defense in tatters, 105-93. With eight minutes to play, the Aces milked McKines for all he had, but they couldn't get the lead to less than eight points for the rest of the way.
Air21's 121 points is a franchise season-high, while their 61.1 percent shooting clip from the field (44-of-72) is their all-time franchise best. Alaska also shot well at 46 percent (40-of-87), but three-point shooting made the difference, with the Express connecting on 13-of-22 tries (59.1 percent) against the Aces' 7-of-23 (30.4 percent).
Wendell McKines top-scored in the game with 43 points and 16 rebounds. Cyrus Baguio tallied 18 points, while Sonny Thoss had 17. Calvin Abueva logged 15 points and 11 boards, while JV Casio collected 12 points. - RAF, GMA News
The scores:
Quarter scoring: 35-28, 63-54, 90-83, 121-107
Atkins notched a career-high 22 points while hitting all his six three-point attempts, tying the all-time record for the most three-pointers made without a miss. Atkins, whose previous high was five points, etched his name next to Glenn Capacio, Vic Pablo, Dondon Hontiveros and Renren Ritualo.
The Express' quarterfinals hopes remain slim, though. To force a playoff for eighth place, they need Talk N' Text to prevail over Ginebra later today by at least 22 points or face elimination. Meanwhile, Alaska slides to seventh and will match up against the San Mig Coffee Mixers.
Air21 head coach Franz Pumaren took the win as a moral victory. "That's the down side when you make some changes during the course of the season," he said, referring to their midseason moves to land Asi Taulava and Joseph Yeo. "But the trade that was consummated will benefit us down the road into the first conference."
"It's too bad our destiny is not in our hands, but we're hoping for a miracle in this second game," said Pumaren. "I'm still mighty proud of our team, even if it was a roller-coaster situation for us."
Pumaren also praised Atkins after the game, whom he used to coach with the DLSU Green Archers. "The last three games, he played as a starting guard; he played [his] role on a high note," he said, chalking up Atkins' performance to his hard work in practice.
Import Zach Graham led Air21 with 27 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Joseph Yeo dropped 16 points and seven assists. KG Canaleta and Vic Manuel scored 16 and 12 points, respectively, while Bonbon Custodio scattered 10 markers in the high-scoring game.
Alaska did a good job limiting import Zach Graham, but the rest of Air21's cast found ways to score. Vic Manuel scrapped for inside points, while Simon Atkins drilled three three-pointers to tally 19 of their first 21 points. On the other side, the Express were unable to keep the Aces out of the paint, as Wendell McKines, Sonny Thoss and Cyrus Baguio took turns scoring, 25-21.
Graham wasn't a non-factor for long though, as he completed an and-one at 4:08, teaming with Bonbon Custodio for 12 of the Express' points, to close the period with a 14-3 run. After the first period, Air21 held a 35-28 advantage.
The Aces bore down hard on Air21 in the second quarter, as Calvin Abueva and Baguio's perimeter touch made the bulk of a 16-10 swing in the first five minutes. Alaska trailed 45-44 after a Baguio trey.
However, the pace shifted as the Express began to draw contact inside, with Asi Taulava and Graham barreling to the hoop. Jvee Casio tried to take charge of the flagging Aces by draining a pair of treys, but otherwise was unable to eke out any offense from his squad. Meanwhile, Joseph Yeo's quickness created problems for the Aces in the lane, and helped finish off a 19-10 exchange in the last seven minutes. The Express remained in control at halftime, 63-54.
After two quarters, Air21 converted a blistering 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) from beyond the arc, led by Atkins' 4-of-4. In contrast, the Aces were 5-of-14 (35.7 percent) and trailed 11-2 in fast break points.
The Alaska Aces' defense collapses on Air21 import Zach Graham (C). Jeff Venancio
Three minutes into the third quarter, Alaska pushed the ball hard off of Air21's misses to pull within a single possession, 67-64. Air21 called for time to settle things down, and wrested control from there. Atkins' sniping buoyed the Express' offense, while the team smothered Alaska at the other end of the floor, 83-70.
The Aces struggled to get decent looks in the half court, but McKines decided he'd seen enough. With four minutes left, the import put Alaska's offense on his back, accounting for 10 of their last 13 points, to enter the fourth quarter trailing by single digits, 90-83.
Luigi Trillo was slapped with technical foul before the fourth quarter began for continuous complaining, and KG Canaleta converted the bonus. This time, Alaska was able to set up Thoss for midrange shots, but Canaleta left their interior defense in tatters, 105-93. With eight minutes to play, the Aces milked McKines for all he had, but they couldn't get the lead to less than eight points for the rest of the way.
Air21's 121 points is a franchise season-high, while their 61.1 percent shooting clip from the field (44-of-72) is their all-time franchise best. Alaska also shot well at 46 percent (40-of-87), but three-point shooting made the difference, with the Express connecting on 13-of-22 tries (59.1 percent) against the Aces' 7-of-23 (30.4 percent).
Wendell McKines top-scored in the game with 43 points and 16 rebounds. Cyrus Baguio tallied 18 points, while Sonny Thoss had 17. Calvin Abueva logged 15 points and 11 boards, while JV Casio collected 12 points. - RAF, GMA News
The scores:
Air21 121 - Graham 27, Atkins 22, Yeo 21, Canaleta 16, Manuel 12, Custodio 10, Taulava 7, Sharma 4, Menor 2, Omolon 0
Alaska 107 - McKines 43, Baguio 18, Thoss 17, Abueva 15, Casio 12, Dela Cruz 2, Reyes 0, Jazul 0, Eman 0, Espinas 0, Hontiveros 0, Belasco 0
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