(ThePhilippineStar) MANILA, Philippines - Smart Gilas opened a 10-point lead in the last four minutes but needed to foil Air21’s endgame chase for a 102-99 victory, its third in a row as it gained a share of the lead with Rain or Shine in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome last night.
Dylan Ababou sank two charities with 2.7 seconds left and the Nationals escaped with the win as JayR Reyes missed a potential game-tying three-point attempt at the buzzer.
Six-foot-10 center Marcus Douthit had another towering performance with 30 points and 18 rebounds and forward Marcius Lassiter added 22 points, seven assists and six rebounds as the Nationals notched another win after hurdling the Talk n Text Tropang Texters and the Alaska Milk Aces.
The Nationals once again tied the Elasto Painters in the lead while relegating the Express to joint ninth with the Powerade Tigers at 1-3.
“Credit goes to the players for showing character in the face of all the problems we go through right now,” said Smart Gilas coach Rajko Toroman.
“We’re missing a key player in Macmac Baracael; Marcus didn’t practice in the last three days; Chris Tiu played sick. These are big problems but my players rose above adversity,” Toroman added.
Douthit, Lassiter and Japeth Aguilar joined forces in making a key fourth-quarter binge that paved the way for Smart Gilas’ unbeaten run in the tourney.
New import Alpha Bangura led an Air21 fightback in the homestretch but the Express came up short, running out of time in their comeback bid.
The Express, who won their tournament debut versus the San Miguel Beermen, reeled to a third straight loss.
Air21 took the risk of a possible fine in allowing Bangura to play minus his release papers from his Lebanon ball club. If it can’t get the paper in 15 days, the franchise will incur a fine of 7,500 Euros (P.5 million) from the Fiba.
Bangura had a decent debut with the Express, piling up 27 points, five rebounds, one assist and one steal in 40 minutes of action.
Reyes contributed 23 points, including 18 in the third period, while Dondon Hontiveros and Dorian Peña chipped in 13 and 12, respectively.
Alaska Milk dominated the early goings then withstood David Young’s 24-point second-half explosion as the Aces nipped the San Miguel Beermen, 96-94, in the second game.
“In a carryover from the first conference, we’re not playing well in the homestretch. We look tired. We’re committing fundamental errors down the stretch and that’s on the blackboard for us,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone.
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