GAMES FRIDAY (Ynares Center, Antipolo City)
4:50 p.m.-Coca-Cola vs Welcoat
7:20 p.m.-Purefoods vs Alaska
MANILA, Philippines—Egay Billones plunged the dagger that snuffed the life out of Red Bull and carried Air21 to a 119-109 victory Wednesday night in the Smart-PBA Fiesta Conference at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City.
Billones fired a career-high 23 points punctuated by a three-pointer with 48 seconds remaining that stopped a rally by the Barako from 13 points down and averted a third straight defeat by the Express in the conference.
The spitfirish playmaker actually made all his four attempts from the perimeter, missed just one of four free throws and nailed four of five three-point attempts to lift Air21 to its seventh win in 12 games.
The loss left the Coca-Cola Tigers alone at the top at 7-4 while dropping the Barako in a tie for second with the Express and idle Talk 'N Text.
The last time Red Bull lost three in a row happened two seasons ago during the 2006 Philippine Cup.
"This is one game where offense helped us deliver the win," said Air21 coach Bo Perasol, whose wards made 43 of 85 attempts for a 50.6-percent shooting clip.
"But we can't be complacent and rely on offense all the time. We must learn to play defense more solidly if we want to succeed in this conference," added Perasol.
Trailing 102-91, the Barako slowly chopped down the deficit as Celino Cruz and Mick Pennisi buried two triples each.
When Red Bull closed in at 111-109, Ranidel De Ocampo struck with a triple of his own. After Red Bull import Adam Parada committed a turnover, Billones pegged the count with a booming trey off a De Ocampo screen.
"He (Billones) delivered the goods for us tonight. He never blinked at a time when Red Bull was making its comeback," said Perasol of the six-year veteran point guard.
Gary David added 20 points while Steven Thomas, who was scoreless in the final period, contributed 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Express, who bounced back from a 102-92 defeat against the Barako in their first meeting.
The scores:
AIR21 119 – Billones 23, David 20, Thomas 19, Santos 17, De Ocampo 12, Arboleda 11, Se 8, Canaleta 5, Kramer 3, Cruz 1, Sotto 0.
RED BULL 109 – Parada 28, Baguio 18, Pennisi 16, Adriano 10, Ybańez 9, Robinson 7, Cruz 6, Duncil 4, Alvarez 4, Bugia 3, Najorda 2, Sharma 2.
Quarters: 31-23, 58-54, 91-82, 119-109
