Canaleta high 31 pts help seal Express win

Niño Canaleta scored a career-high 31 points even as brothers Yancy and Ranidel de Ocampo combined in one decisive run in the fourth quarter as Air21 stunned San Miguel Beer, 110-98, to keep its flickering hopes for an outright entry into the Gran Matador Brandy PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals last night at the Araneta Coliseum.

Canaleta went 13-of-17 from the field and four-of-four from the stripe as he improved his previous high of 27 points while collaring six rebounds and taking one steal in 39 minutes of action.

However, it took Air21 a rapid-fire 18-4 run starring the De Ocampo brothers at the start of the payoff period to seize control and go all the way to take the upset win that kept the Express in the hunt for a playoff shot at No. 5 seeding at the close of the double-round classification phase tomorrow.

Should Coca-Cola and Barangay Ginebra lose their respective games tomorrow at the Ynares Center, Air21 gains a playoff for one of the three outright quarters slots staked in the classifications.

"We’re happy to keep our streak and finish the classifications at 7-9. But we still have to wait for the results of Coke’s and Ginebra’s games.But we’re proud of our finish given the major adjustments in our lineup," said Air21 coach Bo Perasol.

San Miguel coach Jong Uichico gave ample time to his second stringers, and suffered another defeat that relegated them to second place at 11-5.

Danny Seigle had his 12th straight game where he scored at least 20 points although he sat hapless on the bench together with Dorian Peña as the Express waged a breakaway at the onset of the fourth period.

The Express were already firmly in control when Seigle and Peña returned midway in the last canto. — Nelson Beltran