Air 21 Express Slays Purefoods TJ Giants

Boosted by the latest trade that brought one of the rising stars in the pro league, Air21 kept its playoff bid alive as it hammered a masterful 94-82 win over Purefoods in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup wildcard last night at the Araneta Coliseum.

The Express welcomed high-flying guard Cyrus Baguio to their fold with this important win that forced another do-or-die game against San Miguel Beer.

Guard Gary David led Air21 with 20 points, while wingman Arwind Santos finished with double-double 13 points and 11 rebounds. Playmaker Wynne Arboleda also had a solid game with 17 points and six assists.

Air21 and SMB will face-off on Sunday (Jan. 4, 2009).

"When I was watching the two contenders, nakita ko 'yung firepower ng San Miguel," Air21 mentor Bo Perasol said. "Magkakaroon kami ng mismatch sa bigs nila, but sa wings makaka-matchup kami very well."

"Pero it's the same, if we can have the same intensity on defense, magkakaroon kami ng kumpiyansa sa opensa naming," he added.

The winner will advance to the best-of-three quarterfinals against Fiesta Cup champion Barangay Ginebra. Clashing in the other quarterfinals pairing are defending champion Sta. Lucia Realty and surprising Rain or Shine.

Alaska and Talk 'N Txt are already in the semifinals earning outright berths for finishing with the best two records at the end f the elimination phase.

Protecting a five-point lead, 19-14, the Express slowly but surely pulled away with David scoring nine points in the second period to take a 48-37 halftime advantage. The lead reached the 20-point mark in the third period.

An altercation between Purefoods' James Yap and assistant coach Koy Banal occurred with seven minutes left in the fourth with Air21 up, 80-62, allegedly on defensive lapses by the Giants.

The Express led by as many as 24 points, 94-70, on a lay-up by Baguio late in the fourth period.
Yap led Purefoods with 26 points, but was scoreless in the fourth quarter. PBA.ph

The scores:

AIR21 94 -- David 20, Arboleda 17, Santos 13, Cruz 11, Allado 8, Baguio 6, Intal 5, Quinahan 4, Kramer 4, Canaleta 4, Billones 2, Sta. Maria 0.

PUREFOODS 82 -- J. Yap 26, Villanueva 17, Raymundo 14, Lanete 9, Alvarez 6, Simon 5, Aban 3, Belga 2, Robinson 0, R. Yap 0.

Quarterscores: 19-14, 48-37, 72-58, 94-82.

Kerby Raymundo Stars as Purefoods TJ Giants Smash San Miguel Beermen

Photo Credit: hoops.blink.ph

Slowly but surely, the San Miguel Beermen are fading away from its old winning form that brought them this far this conference as they lost a heart-breaking ballgame against the wounded Purefoods Tender Juicy Giants, 84-83.

With no clear go-to-guy to take charge during crunch time, the San Miguel Beermen lost an opportunity to score in an offensive play that could give them the win or at least force the game into overtime if Purefoods sinks a triple. The worst thing that they have done is a defensive lapse in the final play where bigman Mick Pennisi forgot about his man, Enrico Villanueva, in trying to help out in defending Kerby Raymundo.

This type of loss reminds us of the loss of Danny Seigle and Marc Pingris due to injuries. Danny Seigle could have took charge during that offensive play and Marc Pingris could have defended well against Kerby Raymundo. By the way, Kerby Raymundo feasted in the three-point region sinking one triple after the other after Jay Washington and Dorian Pena failed to contain him.

With the way things are going, it’s clear that the San Miguel Beermen should learn how to win close games. Gone are the days that they can lead big points heading into the fourth quarter. Can the San Miguel Beermen still maintain the second spot in the team standings? That remains to be seen on its next games where the only option is to win as the opposition are already catching up.

Alaska outlasts Purefoods, takes top seed in PBA All-Filipino

MANILA, Philippines - Joe Calvin Devance scored 18 points and pulled down 10 rebounds and the Alaska Aces weathered a mid-game run to beat the Purefoods TJ Giants 76-74 in the KFC Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup on Sunday at the Astrodome in Pasay City.

Alaska closed the elimination round with a 12-6 record - the best in the 10-team tournament - and reserved an automatic slot in the semifinals.

Kerby Raymundo finished with 23 points and 11 rebounds to lead Purefoods (8-10).

The Giants, who went all the way to the finals last year, were relegated to the wild-card stage, along with the idle Coca-Cola Tigers (7-11).

The teams with the two-best records will gain automatic semifinal berths, while those ranked no.3 to no.5 will make it to the quarterfinals outright.

Two more teams will join Purefoods and Coke in the wild cards which will determine the fourth and final quarterfinal team. Based on the current standings, San Miguel (no.6 overall, 9-9 record) and Air21 (no.7, 8-9) appear to be the two other wild-card squads.

Red Bull, which finished a league-worst 5-13 record, was the first team to ousted after the Bulls lost 102-84 to the Sta. Lucia Realtors in the first game Sunday.

The final standings will be determined on the final day of the elimination round on Thursday, Christmas Day, with Talk N Text (10-7) and Rain or Shine (10-7) looking to be the second club to gain an automatic semifinal berth.

Talk N Text faces Air21, while Rain or Shine battles unpredictable Barangay Ginebra (9-8).

Slumping San Miguel Beer Battles Wounded Purefoods TJ Giants

San Miguel Beer seems to be listless and literally not in its elements as it lost two of its last two games. They will try to break that spell tonight as they battle the wounded Purefoods TJ Giants at the resumption of the 2008-2009 KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome.

San Miguel Beer still owns the solo second spot in the team standings at 7-4, thanks to sister team Barangay Ginebra who beat the Sta. Lucia Realtors yesterday.

On their first meeting this conference, San Miguel Beer humiliated the Purefoods TJ Giants by burying them with a huge 39-point lead in the third quarter before the Giants closed the game with a 13-point loss, 111-98. If you want to recall their previous encounter news, you can follow the link below:

San Miguel Beermen Clobbers Purefoods TJ Giants in Big Win

Despite its depleted lineup due to injuries and sickness, the Purefoods TJ Giants are up to the challenge to avenge their first meeting defeat. They are a team not to be taken lightly and can explode at any given time.

Obviously missing in the last two games are San Miguel Beer’s outside snipping where main gunmen Dondon Hontiveros and Lordy Tugade were limited to several outside shots. The competition have done a good job scouting the team.

It’s enevitable to have bad games but the only way to survive during these types of situations is to play good defense, keep the game close, and try to win it at endgame.

This is an important win for San Miguel Beer to provide more distance between third running Air21 Express, Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, and Sta. Lucia Realtors, all standing at 6-5. With 7 games left in the second round of the eliminations, it’s critical to start racking up wins to prevent any conflicts for a spot in the semifinals.

Yap, Taulava top PBA 07-08 stats

Journal Online
September 12, 2008

Purefoods James Yap emerged as the scoring champ, Coca-Cola' Asi Taulava the rebounding king and Ginebra's Jayjay Helterbrand the sultan of assists in the 2007-08 PBA season.

Sta. Lucia's Ryan Reyes, Air21's Arwind Santos, Alaska's Sonny Thoss, Red Bull's Mike Hrabak and Coca-Cola's Mark Macapagal also topped different statistical departments in the exciting and dramatic season highlighted by the title conquests of the Sta. Lucia Realtors and the Barangay Ginebra Kings

The stats races turned out to be as close as the battles for both the Philippine Cup and the Fiesta Conference.

Yap ended Mark Caguioa's two-year reign as scoring champion as the 2006 MVP winner averaged 21.32 points a game to edge out two-time MVP awardee Willie Miller who normed 20.67 an outing.

Rounding out the top 10 scorers were Caguioa (19.82), Kelly Williams (18.23), Jayjay Helterbrand (18.11), Cyrus Baguio (18.02), Macmac Cardona (16.89), Santos (16.33), Danny Seigle (15.39) and Gary David (15.33).

Yap became only the second Purefoods player to top the scoring ladder after Alvin Patrimonio who was No. 1 in 1992, 1993 and 1998. The former UE Warrior continued to improve his strides after averaging only 12.5 points in his rookie year, 17.6 the following season and 19.7 in his junior season as a pro.

Taulava and Helterbrand retained their crowns as rebounding and assists kings with the Coca-Cola behemoth averaging 12.51 boards a game and the Ginebra playmaker dishing off 6.5 feeds per contest.

Williams (10.73), Nic Belasco (10.35), Santos (9.56) and Kerby Raymundo (9.2) were the runners-up to Taulava in rebounding honors while Jimmy Alapag (5.9), Wynne Arboleda (4.8), Alex Cabagnot (4.5) and LA Tenorio (4.5) ranked next to Helterbrand in assists.

Reyes was No. 1 in steals, Santos in blocks, Thoss in overall field-goal shooting percentage, Hrabak in three-point accuracy and Macapagal in charities.

Reyes, the Rookie of the Year awardee, came through with 2.1 steals a game, besting Arboleda, two-time champion in this department relegated to second this time with 1.6 an outing.

Topex Robinson and Dondon Hontiveros came in tied at third with 1.3 per game then Baguio at fifth with 1.2 per contest.

Santos reigned supreme in blocks with an average of 1.45 as against the 1.43 of Ali Peek, 1.29 of Hrabak, 1.13 of Marlou Aquino and 1.03 of Marc Pingris.

Hrabak was the best in three-point shooting, hitting at a 42.92-percent clip per game but Thoss was No. 1 in overall field-goal shooting accuracy, converting 53.87 percent of his shots per contest.

Tops in free throw shooting were Macapagal (82.42 percent), Ronjay Buenafe (81.58), Lordy Tugade (81.33), David (81.25) and Yap (81.16).

Committing the most number of errors was Macmac Cardona with 3.75 a game, followed by JayR Reyes (3.38), Raymundo (3.38), Miller (3.26) and Arboleda (3.24).

Spaghetti Oriental

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes



Ingredients:
1 box Dreamfields Spaghetti
1 tablespoon peanut oil
3 tablespoons chopped unsalted peanuts
1 to 2 small Thai chiles, minced
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup chopped hearts of palm
1/2 cup diced cucumber
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon lemon zest
Fresh cilantro leaves (optional)
Chopped unsalted peanuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Cook peanuts and Thai chile 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in water, soy sauce and lemon juice. Cover and simmer 3 minutes.
3. Drain pasta. Add to skillet. Add hearts of palm, cucumber, cilantro, mint and lemon zest; toss to combine. Cook 3 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and peanuts, if desired.
   

Makes 6 side dish servings.

Italian Omelet (Frittata Di Spaghetti)

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

This is a delicious breakfast or brunch pasta dish. Egg substitute may be used in place of real eggs. You can be creative and add in your favorite vegetables and ingredients to make this Italian omelet. Another way to turn the omelet over is to use 2 sauté pans. Hold them tightly together for a clean flip.



Ingredients:
1/2 of a box Dreamfields Spaghetti
8 eggs or 2 cups egg substitute
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 large clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1 jar (6 ounces) marinated, quartered artichoke hearts, drained
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1-1/2 ounces diced prosciutto or ham
Cherry tomatoes (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain well.
2. Meanwhile, in large bowl beat eggs, cheese, 2 tablespoons basil, salt and pepper. Combine cooked pasta with egg mixture; set aside.
3. Heat oil in ovenproof large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and onion; cook 1 minute. Add artichokes, tomatoes and prosciutto. Cook 3 to 4 minutes until vegetables are softened, stirring occasionally. Gently stir into pasta mixture and return to skillet.
4. Cover; cook over medium heat 10 to 12 minutes or until egg mixture is set in center. DO NOT STIR. Remove from heat.
5. Place skillet in oven 4 inches from broiler. Broil 2 to 3 minutes or until top is browned. Transfer to serving dish. Cool 5 minutes. Garnish with additional tablespoon of basil and cherry tomato halves, if desired. Cut into wedges; serve.

Makes 6 main dish servings.