Although the most popular teams still bring more people in, one team that has caught the attention of many is the often times overlooked Air 21 Express (formerly known as FedEx), albeit in roundabout fashion.
The way the Air 21 Express lost last Friday in double overtime to the Alaska Aces was ugly and not a few basketball pundits immediately prognosticated that this team does not know how to win and will probably go nowhere...
Not to take anything away from the Alaska Aces, but that game was Air 21’s for the winning, but it blew it, as the popular line these days goes: "Not once, but twice!."
Well, a couple of nights after, these same experts were gagging on their words.
The Express came away with a masterful 110-95 victory over Sta. Lucia Realty last Sunday.
Heroes were second stringers Niño Cañaleta and Ronald Tubid and their soft-spoken import, Shawn Daniels.
Daniels, who was brought in by player agent Sam Unera, had 30 points and 10 assists to lead the Express.
Unera describes the Berkely, California native as the go-to-guy of the Dodge City Legends in their USBL Championship this year. Sam actually brought his import to our program "Sport Lang" (Saturdays, DWIZ 882 khz, 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.) before the conference started, and everyone in the studio was amused at his size.
He however assured us he could carry his weight and said he was trimming down after coming in from the States at 270 lbs to his 6’5" frame. He said he was impressed with the work ethics of his team: "I’ve never worked this hard in practice before." He is now at 260, and he plans to taper off at 255.
We were warned by Unera to watch out for this guy, because he is the real deal. So far, he seems to be worthy of Sam’s promise.
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Coach Bo Perasol, a reluctant replacement for Bong Ramos as head coach of Air 21, credits their "high energy game" and sticky defense for their big comeback.
Perasol, a GenSan native like Manny Pacquiao, was already happy in an office job as South Luzon Operations Region Manager for FedEx and Air 21 when asked to join the coaching staff last year. His first reaction was to decline, especially because he and his wife Reina were also in the midst of a colossal joint venture: That of having their first baby.
But duty called, and besides, team owner Bert Lina assured Bo and Reina enough vacations and quality time together that they may be able to work on their own project in the best environment possible to ensure a positive result.
Meanwhile, Bo is busy plotting court strategies, while his wife is finishing a masteral degree at the University of the Philippines.
It seems the baby will have to be a result of an off-season encounter.
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As we predicted, the Philippine 9-Ball Open presented by Solar Sports Television and Puyat Sports was marked by a lot of upsets.
World Champions Efren "Bata" Reyes, Alex Pagulayan, and defending Open Champion Antonio "Gaga" Gabica fell by the wayside and were eliminated.
However, Francisco "Django" Bustamante held off Surigao’s Dennis Orcollo in a protracted race to 15 that lasted past midnight and was finally decided after both players mesmerized the audience with some spectacular pool wizardry. Bustamante prevailed via a close 15-13 count, to take the
