Express stun league-leading Texters

 The Air21 Express pulled off one of the biggest upsets in the PBA Commissioners' Cup after defeating the defending conference champions Talk 'N Text Tropang Texters, 89-76, Wednesday night at the Araneta Coliseum.
It was only the Texters' first loss of the conference, snapping their three-game winning streak.

Bitoy Omolon had his finest game of the conference, tallying 23 points, 14 rebounds and four blocks to help the Express booked their second win of the season.

Marcus Douthit only had six points but was still a force on the glass, grabbing a career-high 26 rebounds.

"He was not feeling well and we can all see he was groping for form," Air21 head coach Franz Pumaren told PBA.ph. "But being a true professional and a true warrior, he still came out and played."

Jojo Duncil added 26 points, Mark Isip had 16, and RJ Jazul contributed 12 points as the Express bucked Douthit’s poor offensive performance.

Pumaren noted that despite struggling from the field, Douthit still made his impact on the defensive end of the game.

"He eased the pressure on his teammates. We all know Talk 'N Text is an athletic team with a lot of penetration plays and Marcus was there to help out," he said.

Talk 'N Text debuted new import Donnell Harvey, who replaced the injured Omar Samhan. Harvey had 21 points and 28 rebounds, but the rest of the Texters had little impact on the game.

"Hard work will always beat talent that doesn't want to work. That's what happened to us tonight," Reyes tweeted after the game.

It was the Texters' lowest scoring output of the season.

"We deserved to lose in spite of Donnell Harvey's monster game," Reyes said.

Ranidel De Ocampo scored 13 points, while Jason Castro had 12 points for the Texters, who are now at 3-1 this conference.

The scores:

AIR 21 89 - Omolon 23, Duncil 16, Isip16, Jazul 12, Sena 8, Douthit 6, Ritualo 4, Sison 2, Hubalde
2, Escobal 0, Aquino 0.

TALK N' TEXT 78 - Harvey 21, De Ocampo 13, Castro 12, Fonacier 11, Dillinger 8, Alapag 7, Gamalinda
2, Carey 2, Peek 2, Aguilar 0, Reyes 0, Williams 0.

Quarterscores: 25-18, 42-37, 64-58, 89-78

source: abs-cbnnews.com

Posted in: BASKETBALL,express,PBA,texters