Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — With its ace point guard JVee Casio watching helplessly from the bench and unable to play on account of a bum knee, the league-leading Alaska Aces appeared lost as it ran smack into a speeding Express train. Wham! The Air21 Express pulled off a major upset Friday night as it ran roughshod on an Alaska squad missing its court general to win 74-68 in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City. The Express registered its first back-to-back victories in the conference as it improved to a 3-5 win-loss card, tying idle Barako Bull for seventh to eighth spot in the standings and reviving its playoff hopes. Air21 did it by clamping down hard on defense and taking advantage of a team playing without a legitimate point guard. So tight was the Express defense that the Aces scored only two baskets in the final six minutes. Overall, Air21 limited the Alaska to just 35.3 shooting (24-of-68). Despite the loss, Alaska still leads the pack at 6-2, a full game ahead of Petron and Rain or Shine, both with a 5-2 card. Air21's young and athletic import Michael Dunigan was the big difference as he dominated both ends of the court. Dunigan finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks, outplaying his Alaska counterpart Robert Dozier, who still topscored for his team with 17 points. Dunigan nearly came to blows with his highly physical defenders, including Dozier, and had to be restrained by his teammates. With Casio sidelined because of a knee injury, the Aces had trouble distributing the ball with Alaska head coach Luigi Trillo forced to play shooting guard Cyrus Baguio at the point in some stretches. Taking advantage, the Express forced the Aces into several turnovers, including three in the final six minutes, that ultimately spelled doom for Alaska. Alaska had the chance to gain the upper hand, cutting Air21's lead to a basket, 68-66, with 2:02 left after a booming trey from RJ Jazul. But the Express answered back with a Bitoy Omolon three-pointer, triggering a 6-2 exchange that finally broke the Aces' backs. In the first match of the Friday double-header, the defending champion San Mig Coffee Mixers came from behind to defeat the Meralco Bolts, 76-71. The Mixers resorted to a stifling defense to notch their fourth win in eight games, tying the Bolts at fifth to sixth place in the standings. San Mig Coffee limited Meralco to just 13 points on 5-of-22 shooting in the final quarter. So unforgiving was the San Mig Coffee defense that Meralco ace Mac Cardona finished scoreless after missing all eight of his shots while committing four turnovers. The Mixers also limited Ronjay Buenafe, another Meralco ace gunner, to just two points. Although he scored only seven points, Marc Pingris shone on the defensive end for San Mig Coffee, grabbing 16 rebounds while hounding Meralco's top scorers Eric Dawson and Chris Ross all night long. Dawson still top-scored for Meralco with 20 points. Denzel Bowles, last season's Best Import awardee, led the San Mig Coffee offense with 23 points, 10 of them scored in the final quarter. James Yap added 19 points. Meralco's loss rendered meaningless the triple-double game of Ross who had 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
