ACES DOWN BEERMEN WITH STRONG FINISH
BINAN, Laguna – Alaska, coming from a 12-day break, dragged San Miguel Beer to a defensive battle in the first half before letting loose its offensive firepower to stun the Beermen, 89-78, in a PLDT Home TVolution PBA Commissioner’s Cup road game at the Alonte Sports Arena here Saturday.
The Aces saved their best for last in the Petron-sponsored Saturday Special, torching the Beermen, 13-0, at the finish to score a first back-to-back victories in the mid-season tourney.
Robert Dozier capped a remarkable 20-point and 20-rebound game with crucial contributions in their fiery windup that allowed them to tie the Air21 Express and the Meralco Bolts at fourth place at 3-3.
The Aces stopped the Beermen’s three-game romp and put San Miguel in a precarious position in the fight for the Top Two in the elimination round.
The Talk n Text Tropang Texters are well perched on top while the San Mig Coffee Mixers pose a great danger to the Beermen (5-2) at 3-1.
The Beermen take their turn to take a long break before playing the Mixers in a pivotal match on April 12. San Miguel’s final assignment in the elims is Air21 four days later.
The Aces started a bit flat but found their rhythm in time to notch a follow-up to their stirring win over the Express the last time out nearly two weeks ago.
They were in great groove defensively and offensively in the end, thus, blanking the Beermen, 13-0, in the last five minutes of play.
Jvee Casio and Cyrus Baguio drained a three-pointer each that sandwiched two free throws by Dozier as the Aces took command, 84-78, entering the last two minutes.
The Beermen failed to recover and suffered a second loss in five outings with Kevin Jones as import.
Jones and the rest of the SMB key players were effectively neutralized by the Aces in the intense match.
Down by five, 32-37, at the half, the Beermen worked on a decisive run behind the efforts of Santos, Jones and June Mar Fajardo as SMB went up by eight at 50-42.
Dozier, Casio, Cyrus Baguio and Tony de la Cruz presided over a counterattack for Alaska, though, as the Aces drew level at 62-all at the end of the third.
The two teams figured in a nip-and-tuck battle before Alaska pounced on SMB’s endgame breakdown. (SB)
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