Barangay Ginebra held Air21 to a single free throw in the last four minutes and leaned on its hot shooting from the rainbow territory to dislodge Air21, 101-92, and gain a share of the lead of the 2008-09 KFC-Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup Sunday night at the Araneta Coliseum.

Junjun Cabatu fired a career-high 23 points, including two three-pointers in the Kings' 11-0 burst in the closing minutes that turned the tide for Ginebra, which joined Alaska and Rain or Shine at the top of the standings with 2-0 win-loss mark.

"He (Cabatu) can really shoot," said Kings head coach Jong Uichico, whose team played minus big men Eric Menk, Rafi Reavis and Billy Mamaril due to injuries.

"And he's a big help because he's a big man who can shoot," Uichico added.

Cabatu, son of former Ginebra player Sonny, was picked from the four players who tried out in the team during the off season. The three who were not selected were Alwynn Espiritu, Mike Gavino and Bernzon Franco.

The Express last tasted the lead after Ranidel de Ocampo hit a three-pointer at the top of the key, 91-90, 4:02 remaining before Ginebra reeled off 11 straight points, with Cabatu sinking two triples and Ronald Tubid capping the run with another trey that gave the Kings a 101-91 lead with 1:55 left in the game.

Air21 never recovered after that telling run by Ginebra with Wynnie Arboleda putting an end to the scoring drought with a split in the closing seconds of the game.

Arwind Santos had 19 points for the Express, who absorbed their third straight loss in as many games.

"We are really playing as a team right now because we're not focusing on one person to do the scoring alone," said Uichico who also drew 21 markers from Jayjay Helterbrand.

In the first game, Sta. Lucia Realty caught fire in the second half as the Realtors turned back Talk 'N Text, 117-96, to post their first win.

After a 36-point output in the first half, Sta. Lucia erupted for 81 in the next stage to beat the Phone Pals in their own game and hand the latter their first loss after starting 2-0 in the tournament.

Kelly Williams, Bitoy Omolon and Joseph Yeo were responsible in the Realtors' breakaway in the second half as they finally found their rhythm after the break to lead their team to the victory.

Williams, the reigning Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the league, finished with a game-high 25 points, 21 came in the second half. He also grabbed 10 rebounds and issued five assists.

Omolon had 15 of his 24 points in the final quarter where Sta. Lucia pulled away. Yeo chipped in 18 while Norman Gonzales contributed 14 markers off the bench.

"We made the right adjustments in the second half. In the first half, parang free-flowing ang nangyari sa amin. Hindi kami makapag-set ng plays," said Realtors head coach Boyet Fernandez.

"Nag-focus talaga kami kay Kelly sa second half. When he got his game, gumanda ang spacing and Bitoy (Omolon) became a factor with his offensive rebounds and putbacks," Fernandez added.

Yeo also played a key role in dismantling the Phone Pals as he unloaded 12 of his total output in the second half where Sta. Lucia outscored its rivals, 81-59.

Talk 'N Text was still in the lead after Yancy de Ocampo hit a jumper, 58-56, then Omolon, Williams and Yeo joined forces to spearhead a 19-9 exchange to end the third quarter holding a 75-67 advantage.

The Realtors' first taste of a double-digit lead came after Yeo hit two free throws off the fifth foul of Jared Dillinger, 82-72, with 10:06 left in the game. The defending champions were not done yet.

Sta. Lucia dropped a decisive 18-10 exchange with Omolon scoring the the last eight in that run to pad their lead to 100-82 with still 4:55 remaining. The Realtors were never threatened since then as the lead even ballooned to as high as 21 points.

"It's nice to get a win especially against Talk 'N Text which is really a strong team here," said Fernandez, whose wards bounced back from a sorry 86-89 loss to Barangay Ginebra in their first game.      

"Pero marami pang dapat gawing adjustments dahil first two games pa lang namin ito. All teams really got stronger and every game, we will continue to make the necessary adjustment."

Mark Cardona had a team-high 19 points while rookie Jason Castro and Jimmy Alapag each had 14 points for the Phone Pals, who led 37-36 at halftime.

No. 2 overall pick Jared Dillinger had 11 on 4-of-14 shooting from the field. He was plagued by foul trouble all throughout the match.