MANILA — Returning from a one-game absence due to a shoulder injury, import Richard Howell showed devastating form as he led the Talk N Text Tropang Texters to a 97-84 demolition of the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings Tuesday night to advance to the semifinals of the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. Howell, a former standout of the North Carolina Tar Heels in the US collegiate league, poured 41 points and 22 rebounds. The 6'7” import made mincemeat of the Kings' shoddy defense with his sheer athleticism and firepower, and totally outclassed his Ginebra counterpart, Gabe Freeman. It was TNT's 10th straight victory as the Texters now await the winner of the Rain or Shine-Meralco quarterfinal series. After an 11-day break, the Texters showed little rust as they scored nearly at will from all angles while confounding the Kings with their pressing defense. Howell fired 23 points just in the first half, giving the Texters a 42-34 halftime lead. The lead grew to 62-40 during the first six minutes of the third quarter, with Howell toying with Freeman and seven-foot center Greg Slaughter with his follow-up shots and mid-range jump shots. The Texters led by as many as 29 points, 86-57 before the Kings made a 12-0 run to trim TNT's lead to 17 points, 86-69. But that was the closest the Kings could come as the Texters bludgeoned them into submission in the endgame. It was an embarrassing loss for the Kings who could only shoot 36.3 percent from the field. They bowed out of contention, with their seventh loss in 10 outings. Ranidel De Ocampo was the top local scorer for TNT with 15 points. Jayson Castro and Larry Fonacier added 13 and 12 points, respectively. Mark Caguioa led Ginebra with 19 points while Freeman, Ginebra's third import in the conference, finished his two-game stint with Ginebra with 15 points and 22 rebounds. Freeman, a former PBA Best Import awardee, played a lackluster game, shooting a dismal 2-of-17 from the field and getting most of his points from the free throw line. LA Tenorio was the only other Gin King in double figures with 12. Air21 92, San Miguel Beer 79 Sean Anthony and the league's oldest player Asi Taulava whipped a storm as seventh-seeded Air21 Express pulled off a huge 92-79 upset over second seed San Miguel Beer, forcing a deciding playoff match Friday. The winner of that game advances into the semifinals against the winner of the Alaska-San Mig Coffee quarterfinals series. Anthony led the Express with 25 points, 21 of them in the second half. Import Wesley Witherspoon finished off the Beermen, scoring 11 of Air 21's last 15 points. Witherspoon finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Taulava added 17 points and eight rebounds. The Express raced to a 12-2 lead and never once looked back, leading by as much as 17 points in the first half. Just as the Beermen appeared to be on the verge of turning the game around after cutting the deficit to six, 52-46, Anthony caught fire as the Express pulled away for good. Import Kevin Jones led SMB with 34 points and 15 rebounds. Chris Lutz and Arwind Santos chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Games Wednesday: Alaska vs. San Mig Coffee (Alaska leads 1-0 in best-of-3 quarterfinals) and Rain or Shine vs. Meralco (Meralco leads 1-0 in best-of-3 quarterfinals).
