MAGNOLIA knew it would be facing an import-less Air21 team and the knowledge seemed to have done more harm than good.
At least according to Beverage Masters coach Siot Tanquingcen, who was more dissatisfied than pleased following his team's 113-87 victory at the start of the Smart PBA Fiesta Conference semifinals Sunday at the Cuneta Astrodome.
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“Magaling talaga ang Air21, pero parang masyadong naging complacent ang mga players ko. It seems we forgot what got us here, which is defense, so it was really a bad start from that aspect,” said Tanquingcen.
The win was Magnolia's first over Air21 this season, coming as it did in the most opportune of times, which is the opener of their best-of-seven series.
Amal McCaskill waxed the hottest among the Magnolia players, coming up with a PBA career-high 34 points that went with 12 rebounds while Lordy Tugade's 22 points led four locals who had at least 10 points each and stepped up in the continued absence of Danny Seigle.
But Air21 was without Steven Thomas, who first attended tryouts for the Korean league in the US and then stayed longer there after he attended the Cleveland Cavaliers training camp.
Still, the Express managed to hold their foes through 10 lead changes and seven deadlocks, leaving Tanquingcen with more creases on his forehead than when he came into the game.
“The first half was played poorly,” he stressed, referring to the fact his team even trailed 39-44 at one point.
Thomas, who averaged 23.4 points, 16.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game and led the Lina franchise to its first-ever outright semis berth and first No. 1 ranking in the playoffs, is set to arrive Monday and will play in Game 2 on Wednesday.The thought now gnaws on Tanquingcen.
“They're gonna get a confidence boost. Iba talaga pag me import ka,” he said. “We've got to make sure coming in that we do things right. We can't win if we conduct ourselves the way we did kanina.”
Expectedly, Express coach Bo Perasol was more satisfied with his boys' showing.
“We're not going to be hard on ourselves,” he said, already looking forward to Wednesday. “They will have to contend with us as a complete unit next time at ibang usapan na iyon.”
Ironically, McCaskill also seemingly drew the best from Homer Se, who surprisingly paced Air21 with a career-high 31 points to go with seven rebounds. Egay Billones' 13 points and Arwind Santos' 12 were the only other double figures for Air21, who barely got beaten off the boards, 46-53.
Once the Beverage Masters got their act together, however, it was simply a matter of time before the game's true colors came out and it did mostly in the fourth period.
Already going to the payoff quarter with a 77-59 spread, Magnolia put the outcome beyond doubt by erecting a 110-84 spread.
The second half domination was paved by McCaskill right in the third period, where he outscored the entire Air21 crew by himself by scattering 14, one more than the Express’ output.
As a result, the Beverage Masters managed to bloat a 50-46 halftime lead to as much as 71-52, on a layup by Tugade, 4:09 to go in the quarter.
The Express helped along their loss by going 2-of-12 from the field in the first 7:08 of the quarter.
Se, whose previous high was only 22 recorded in a 123-106 loss to Sta. Lucia in the Philippine Cup elims last January 13, was the lone real bright spot for Air21, but the 6-foot-5 center suffered cramps on his left leg after successively missing an undergoal stab and a followup, with 7:19 to go.
He returned later on and even had 10 points in the fourth period but the difference was too much for even him and his career game. (NCo)
The scores:
Magnolia 113 – McCaskill 34, Tugade 22, Hontiveros 11, Racela 10, Pena 10, Pingris 6, Ildefonso 6, Bono 4, Gonzales 3, Calaguio 3, Eman 2, Cortez 0, Villanueva 0.
Air21 87 – Se 31, Billones 13, Santos 12, David 9, de Ocampo 8, Canaleta 7, Arboleda 5, Kramer 2, Cruz 0, Intal 0, Espinas 0, Sotto 0.Quarterscores: 31-26, 50-46, 77-59, 113-87.
At least according to Beverage Masters coach Siot Tanquingcen, who was more dissatisfied than pleased following his team's 113-87 victory at the start of the Smart PBA Fiesta Conference semifinals Sunday at the Cuneta Astrodome.
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“Magaling talaga ang Air21, pero parang masyadong naging complacent ang mga players ko. It seems we forgot what got us here, which is defense, so it was really a bad start from that aspect,” said Tanquingcen.
The win was Magnolia's first over Air21 this season, coming as it did in the most opportune of times, which is the opener of their best-of-seven series.
Amal McCaskill waxed the hottest among the Magnolia players, coming up with a PBA career-high 34 points that went with 12 rebounds while Lordy Tugade's 22 points led four locals who had at least 10 points each and stepped up in the continued absence of Danny Seigle.
But Air21 was without Steven Thomas, who first attended tryouts for the Korean league in the US and then stayed longer there after he attended the Cleveland Cavaliers training camp.
Still, the Express managed to hold their foes through 10 lead changes and seven deadlocks, leaving Tanquingcen with more creases on his forehead than when he came into the game.
“The first half was played poorly,” he stressed, referring to the fact his team even trailed 39-44 at one point.
Thomas, who averaged 23.4 points, 16.6 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game and led the Lina franchise to its first-ever outright semis berth and first No. 1 ranking in the playoffs, is set to arrive Monday and will play in Game 2 on Wednesday.The thought now gnaws on Tanquingcen.
“They're gonna get a confidence boost. Iba talaga pag me import ka,” he said. “We've got to make sure coming in that we do things right. We can't win if we conduct ourselves the way we did kanina.”
Expectedly, Express coach Bo Perasol was more satisfied with his boys' showing.
“We're not going to be hard on ourselves,” he said, already looking forward to Wednesday. “They will have to contend with us as a complete unit next time at ibang usapan na iyon.”
Ironically, McCaskill also seemingly drew the best from Homer Se, who surprisingly paced Air21 with a career-high 31 points to go with seven rebounds. Egay Billones' 13 points and Arwind Santos' 12 were the only other double figures for Air21, who barely got beaten off the boards, 46-53.
Once the Beverage Masters got their act together, however, it was simply a matter of time before the game's true colors came out and it did mostly in the fourth period.
Already going to the payoff quarter with a 77-59 spread, Magnolia put the outcome beyond doubt by erecting a 110-84 spread.
The second half domination was paved by McCaskill right in the third period, where he outscored the entire Air21 crew by himself by scattering 14, one more than the Express’ output.
As a result, the Beverage Masters managed to bloat a 50-46 halftime lead to as much as 71-52, on a layup by Tugade, 4:09 to go in the quarter.
The Express helped along their loss by going 2-of-12 from the field in the first 7:08 of the quarter.
Se, whose previous high was only 22 recorded in a 123-106 loss to Sta. Lucia in the Philippine Cup elims last January 13, was the lone real bright spot for Air21, but the 6-foot-5 center suffered cramps on his left leg after successively missing an undergoal stab and a followup, with 7:19 to go.
He returned later on and even had 10 points in the fourth period but the difference was too much for even him and his career game. (NCo)
The scores:
Magnolia 113 – McCaskill 34, Tugade 22, Hontiveros 11, Racela 10, Pena 10, Pingris 6, Ildefonso 6, Bono 4, Gonzales 3, Calaguio 3, Eman 2, Cortez 0, Villanueva 0.
Air21 87 – Se 31, Billones 13, Santos 12, David 9, de Ocampo 8, Canaleta 7, Arboleda 5, Kramer 2, Cruz 0, Intal 0, Espinas 0, Sotto 0.Quarterscores: 31-26, 50-46, 77-59, 113-87.
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