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ALASKA IN FINAL 4
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Doing what they do best – play “D,” Alaska punched a second straight PBA Final Four stint under coach Alex Compton.
The Aces threw a stonewall defense on the Meralco Bolts, holding them down to mere 25 points in the first half and going on to carve out an 87-69 victory that sent them to the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday night.
Waiting for Alaska in the semis is old rival and tormentor Rain or Shine.
Cyrus Baguio scored on drive then grabbed an errant Meralco inbound and nailed an off-balanced, one-handed looper from beyond the arc at the buzzer as the Aces shattered the Bolts’ bid into pieces right in the first half at 47-25.
The Aces pulled a great job on the defensive end together, spelling the big difference in netting the biggest halftime lead by any team in the conference since San Miguel Beer’s 56-29 margin over GlobalPort in their game last Nov. 25.
“Yung umpisa ang istorya ng game,” said Compton.
“Kapag ni-limit mo ang kalaban mo sa 25 points in the first half, ang laki na ng chance mo manalo. We beat them right in the first half,” Compton also said.
“Meralco did a good job in the second half as they adjusted very well. Pero ibang klase talaga yung simula namin,” Compton added.
Each Alaska player defended really well, allowing not a single Meralco Bolt to score more than five in the first two quarters.
The Aces simply hung on in the second half and thus survived the cutthroat quarterfinals to advance to the best-of-seven semifinals versus the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters.
“I expect that to be a great series. I expect that to be like our elims match that came down to the last play,” said Compton.
It will be a rematch of their Governors’ Cup semis showdown won by the E-Painters on the deciding Game Five.
“Nasaktan kami noong tinalo kami ng Rain or Shine in the elims. Dahil doon nawala kami sa Top Two,” said Calvin Abueva, sounding determined to get back at the E-Painters.
That’s something the Bolts weren’t able to do after suffering an earlier blowout – 64-105 – at the hands of the Aces in the elims.
And thus the Final Four remained a top mountain to climb for the MVP franchise.
Dondon Hontiveros and Vic Manuel also had a hand in Alaska’s swashbuckling start, with the former going 4-of-5 from the three-point area and the latter delivering eight markers and six boards in the first two quarters of play.
Alaska broke away early while holding Meralco down to 12 points in the first quarter and to 13 in the second period.
From a six-all count, Hontiveros and Manuel ignited an explosive 18-2 bomb as the Aces seized control right in the opening quarter.
The Aces thoroughly dominated the Bolts all the way to the finish. (SB)
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