Air21 beats ROS, out to prove last conference run ‘not a fluke’
MANILA, Philippines — The Air21 Express wanted to prove a point after last conference’s surprising run and they came out with a statement Tuesday night.
The Express, riding high on their strong finish in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, picked up where they left off following a wire-to-wire win over Rain or Shine, 103-96, in their 2014 Governors’ Cup debut at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“We don’t want to let our team down and our fans down after last conference,” said Air21 center Asi Taulava, at 41, led all locals with 19 points to go along with a game-high 14 rebounds in 37 minutes. “We just want to build on our momentum last conference. We don’t want to give the people doubt that it was just a fluke. We want to continue on with all the hard work we did.”
“After that semis last conference, our mindset right now is not just competing. As much as possible our mindset right now is we need to improve on our standing last conference and win as many games as possible,” Express head coach Franz Pumaren told reporters, who steered his team all the way to the semifinals where they pushed eventual champions San Mig Coffee Mixers to their limits.
Import Dominique Sutton, a rock-solid guard-forward, had limited practice after arriving just last Thursday but still posted a game-high 25 points on top of 10 rebounds for Air21, which still missed the services of hardworking forward Sean Anthony due to injury.
“He gave us some energy,” Pumaren said of his six-foot-five and 240-pound reinforcement out of North Carolina Central. “Our import gave us a lift. He’s a good fit for us but he still has to learn the game here in the PBA.”
Down by as much as 17 points, the Elasto Painters rallied to within six, 91-97, on an Arizona Reid breakaway layup off a Gabe Norwood steal with 1:37 remaining before Sutton answered with a basket inside the paint to push the Express lead back to eight with under 30 seconds left.
“It’s a good start for us. Like what I told the players before we should consider each game as a playoff game because of the short tournament,” said Pumaren after the Express picked up their first franchise win over the Painters.
“Coach told us before the game that we want to come out there and be physical. It’s a fast-paced conference and we’re playing every other day and we want to pile up on the wins,” echoed Taulava.
Amid a late-game run by ROS, the old Air21 may have folded under pressure but clearly, this is a different Express squad with a different mentality.
“Once you taste success it’s so hard to let go. Before we got together, the thing we had before is like the guys have accepted losing and coach wanted to change that mentality and the guys now have put in the work,” said Taulava.
“We’re not the old Air21 anymore which is just competing and losing by a few points we’re happy. No, our goal right now is to make sure that what we accomplished last conference is not just a flash in the pan, not just a fluke. We want to establish ourselves that we’re serious contenders now,” Pumaren said.
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