Beermen cruise past Al-Hussaini-led Express

San Miguel's veteran line-up proved too much for Air21's rookie-laden roster.

With Dondon Hontiveros and Arwind Santos combining for 43 points, the Beermen cruised past Rabeh Al-Hussaini and the Express, 100-86, for a rousing debut in the PBA Philippine Cup Friday night at the Araneta Coliseum. Hontiveros exploded for 24 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while Santos added 19 in a fiery display of firepower for a San Miguel team that dominated the game from start to finish. "We just used our experience against them," said Hontiveros, 32. "Alam namin may mga rookie players sila, so we just took advantage of our strength against them which is experience." Al-Hussaini, the former RP-Smart Gilas team member selected No. 2 overall in the Rookie Draft, accounted for 16 points in his debut game in Asia's first ever play-for-pay league, but it wasn't good enough to give Air21 the win. Fellow rookie Rey Guevarra, the third overall pick behind Al-Hussaini, finished with only a point, while the top rookie pick, Nonoy Baclao, didn't play. He showed up in street clothes after hyper-extending his knee in a tune-up game against Alaska. But interim coach Gee Abanilla – temporarily taking the place of head mentor Ato Agustin – believes the Express will only become better as the All-Filipino tournament progresses. "Medyo gumanda ang line-up nila ngayon, tapos hindi pa nakalaro si (Noy) Baclao," noted Abanilla, once the main assistant of Air21 coach Yeng Guiao while the two were still with Red Bull. "Marami silang pahihirapan. Luckily, nakalaban namin sila ngayon pa lang." Wesley Gonzales took the cudgels for Air21 offensively, topscoring for 19 points on 6-of-12. Jay Washington had 14 points for San Miguel, which led by as many as 19 several times, the last at 100-81 in the final minute of the blowout game. "We are in good shape right now, because during the off-season, we focused on our strength and conditioning," said Abanilla. "We were quicker and stronger than last year. We defended well, though unfortunately, we couldn't make our free throws." - JVP, GMANews.TV