Alexander, Ginebra Kings tie finals series

MANILA, Philippines – Chris Alexander dropped 22 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, and Ginebra got what it needed from players normally relegated to the backstage in a 90-77 win over Air21 in Game 4 Wednesday, tying the Smart-Philippine Basketball Association Fiesta Conference Finals at 2-2 at the Araneta Coliseum.

Outworked by Steven Thomas in Game 3 Sunday, Alexander returned to even things up with his Air21 counterpart as the Gin Kings held the Express to their lowest output over the last two seasons.

The lowest output the Express had before this one was an 87-73 loss to Coca-Cola on May 28, 2006 in a playoff for the outright quarterfinals berth, and the loss ended Air21’s run of 93 straight games where it scored at least 80 points.

Ginebra survived the absence of Jay-Jay Helterbrand this time and Mark Caguioa’s poor shooting form. The Best Player of the Conference missed his second straight Finals match after suffering a hamstring injury in Game 2, while Caguioa only shot 5-of-14 from the floor to finish with 13 points.

But Chris Pacana had 14 points, Paul Artadi contributed 13, Junthy Valenzuela scattered nine and Ronald Tubid came back from a dislocated left ankle injury last July 4 without even having a single practice game.

“I really appreciated the guys because they played even though some of them were hurting," said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico. “That’s the Ginebra spirit.

“But we only evened the series. It will all depend now on how healthy we are come Friday."

The Gin Kings limited the Express from making runs in the second half, and they succeeded this time in holding down Air21’s usually reliable three-point shooting.

Air21 only converted 4 of their 23 attempts from beyond the arc for a horrible 17.4 percent clip.

Thomas led the Express with 19 points and 16 rebounds, but the franchise seeking its first ever PBA title only got 14 points from Gary David, who shot 4-of-12 from the field, some of them forced shots.

Nino Canaleta, hero for Air21 in Game 3, was even held scoreless. – GMANews.TV