PBA: Air21 opens Commissioner's Cup with a win over GlobalPort

(Updated 8:10pm) The Air21 Express spoiled Pido Jarencio's head coaching debut, opening the 2014 PBA Commissioner's Cup with an 83-78 win over GlobalPort Batang Pier, Wednesday, at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Herve Lamizana, the Express' Ivorian import, was a huge factor in their third quarter rally and he finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks. Joseph Yeo led all locals with 21 points, six rebounds and five assists. Asi Taulava added 14 points and five boards, while Mac Cardona had 11 points and five rebounds.

Lamizana seemed deferential in the first two quarters but scoring just two points was unacceptable to Express coach Franz Pumaren. After the game, Pumaren said he had to be "brutally honest" with Lamizana's early lackluster showing.

"I told him he should be dominating and setting the tempo for the rest of us. I told him that the locals' morale would be boosted if he would be playing well all around," said Pumaren. "It's a good thing in the second half our import already stepped up his game. I was kind of hard on him during halftime and made him realize that imports should take over. And of course the locals were there during the first half, even if the import was not playing well."

Pumaren hopes Lamizana can adjust quickly to the physicality of the league and get into shape, seeing as how their import plugs a lot of holes of the team. "Right now our main concern is his conditioning. We were pacing him because I don't think he's in tip-top shape, but he's getting there. We saw hints of what he can do because he can play multiple positions," the Air21 mentor said.

The Express rained baskets to start the game, converting all six field goals from range to lead 14-2. GlobalPort brought Jay Washington off the bench, and he tag-teamed with Evan Brock to wrestle the lead down to six midway through the quarter. However, the Batang Pier got no closer as they missed several tries in the paint, while Asi Taulava added his eighth and tenth points in the last three minutes to give Air21 a 22-14 lead.

GlobalPort bounced back in the second as their bigs exploited Taulava's absence from the floor. Ex-Express guard Bonbon Custodio paved the way for a 16-6 Batang Pier run, overpowering Joseph Yeo's efforts to keep Air21 afloat, 37-34. Brock starred in the last two minutes too, getting putbacks and converting from the line to establish a 45-40 halftime lead for GlobalPort.


After a quiet first half, Herve Lamizana impacted both ends of the floor for the Express. Opening the third with consecutive and-one's, his presence deterred Batang Pier from getting their usual looks inside. Yeo added some clutch shots too, supporting Lamizana's 16-point explosion in the frame. Free agent signing Mark Macapagal broke the ice for GlobalPort with a triple at the 1:15 mark though, allowing them to hang around, 66-56 entering the fourth.

Mac Cardona churned out Air21's first 11 points, but his team's offense as a whole floundered. Meanwhile, Macapagal's shooting helped spark GlobalPort's comeback, as he nailed a trey to revive the Batang Pier. What ensued was a 17-4 run, with Brock bringing down the hammer in transition to tie the game, 77-77, with under three minutes left.

In the endgame however, the Batang Pier slipped, missing gimmes inside while Lamizana and Mark Borboran found good position on their end to retake the lead, 80-78. After successive misses from Justin Chua and Alex Cabagnot, GlobalPort got the offensive rebound and called timeout with 30.1 seconds left. The Batang Pier recovered another Brock miss, but Borboran stripped the ball from Macapagal with 18.2 ticks left and made two from the line, 82-78. GlobalPort pushed the ball back up to Cabagnot for a quick three, but it missed, allowing Air21 to close the game out at the line.

Air21 shot 34-of-85 (40 percent) while limiting GlobalPort to a 29-of-93 (31.2 percent) field goal clip. The Batang Pier though enjoyed an 18-of-27 (66.7 percent) advantage from the free throw line versus the Express' 10-of-16 (62.5 percent) mark.

GlobalPort led on the glass (68-50, including 26-10 offensive) but only tied Air21 in second-chance points, 13-13. The Express on the other hand ran away with an 21-8 advantage in turnover points.

Evan Brock had a dominant 28 points and 26 rebounds, but shot just 8-of-25 from the field and committed six turnovers. Justin Chua was the only other Batang Pier in double-digit scoring with 10 markers. Alex Cabagnot had a decent showing in his debut with his new team, tallying four points and eight assists, despite struggling to make his presence felt in the game. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

Air21 83 - Lamizana 22, Yeo 21, Taulava 14, Cardona 11, Borboran 6, Villanueva 4, Burtscher 2, Sharma 2, Atkins 1, Jaime 0, Poligrates 0, Matias 0, Camson 0, Manuel 0

Globalport 78 - Brock 28, Chua 10, Washington 9, Macapagal 8, Custodio 8, Cabagnot 4, Garcia 4, Romeo 3, Yee 2, Salva 2, Nabong 0, Ponferada 0, Salvador 0

Quarter scoring:  22-14, 40-45, 66-56, 83-78