There won’t be another winless conference for the Air21 Express as they started their 37th PBA Commissioner’s Cup campaign with a morale-boosting 97-88 win over the Barako Bull Energy last night at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City.
Air21, then known as Shopinas.com, had a forgettable maiden stint in the league when they finished the Philippine Cup without a single win in 14 games.
New recruit Nelbert Omolon had an impressive debut with his new team, piling up a team-high 17 points, while naturalized Filipino import Marcus Douthit also gave a good acount of himself by adding 16 markers.
The Express also got solid contributions from RJ Jazul, James Sena and Mark Isip, who finished with 15, 13 and 10 points, respectively.
Air21 dominated Barako Bull from start to finish as head coach Franz Pumaren finally got his first win in the PBA.
“We needed Marcus and the new acquisitions to boost the morale of the players. Marcus only joined us recently, but the moment he stepped into the practice facility, the confidence level grew at a
certain level. He is tailor-fit for us,” Pumaren told pba.ph. “I had a strange feeling we’re going to win this game prior to the start of the match.”
The Express took to a blistering 31-8 start and cruised from that point on.
DerMarr Johnson fired a game-high 37 points, but the Energy still succumbed to a second straight loss to drop to 1-2 (win-loss)