A little scare towards the end but a win nonetheless.
The Barangay Ginebra Kings survived the late surge by Air 21 despite playing without their import Curtis Stinson to win 89-87 and improve their standings to 3-2 while keeping the Express winless in six games last night at the Araneta Coliseum.
Air 21 got off to a hot start led by the strong performance of Carlo Sharma with 8 points and 5 rebounds in the first quarter and Wynne Arboleda added two 3-pointers as the Express led 24-18 at the end of the first period.
Ginebra cuffed Air 21 in the second period allowing only 9 points as they ran the Express to the ground with John Wilson, Jayjay Helterbrand and Mark Caguioa leading their team to a 41-33 lead at halftime.
JC Intal ignited a huge run to open up the third quarter of the Kings as he scored back to back 3's and a dunk leading to the biggest lead 51-36 for the Kings but Air 21 managed to stay within striking distance towards the end of the quarter.
Air 21 intensified their rally in the fourth quarter with an all Filipino lineup with Alpha Bangura saddled with 4 personal fouls and a non-factor throughout the game with only 7 points, with only 3 markers in the first half in 1/9 shooting from the field mostly due to the tough defense by Ronald Tubid.
KG Canaleta exploited his matchup with Intal in the pay-off period to bring his team within 2 points and a final possession with 3.5 seconds to go but Tubid blocked Alpha Bangura's attempt off a good inbound pass.
Bangura had one last chance to salvage the game for his team but his hurried jumpshot with 2 seconds to go went off the iron, giving the Kings the victory.
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