GAME 1 TO ALASKA

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Alaska erased the stigma of a 51-point massacre by Rain or Shine in the eliminations as the Aces, with a tremendous inside attack and strong finish, topped the Elasto Painters, 97-93, in the opener of their PLDT Home Telpad PBA Governors’ Cup best-of-five semifinal showdown at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Friday night.

Henry Walker, Sonny Thoss and Vic Manuel punished Rain or Shine at the post, negating the Elasto Painters’ 12-of-29 three-point shooting as the Aces seized the decisive head start in the race-to-three series.

“It’s nice to win Game One in this series. Alam ko hindi ganoon kahalaga but I think it’s good for our confidence,” said Alaska coach Alex Compton.

“As much as we didn’t talk much about the 51-point blowout, you kept on reminding us all the time. At least now, we know we can beat this team,” Compton also said.

Hanging around in a battle with the E-Painters and their torrid outside shooting, the Aces took the game in the end with a decisive 9-0 flurry.

With main defender Gabe Norwood going down with a sprained ankle early in the fourth, Walker dominated the game at the finish, scoring 14 of his 31 points in the payoff period.

Walker himself delivered the go-ahead basket, 95-93, and the deciding play making it 97-93 as he intercepted Paul Lee’s inbound to Jeff Chan and made the insurance buckets from the stripe.

“Henry obviously was great in the stretch. He’s aggressive and used his size to quick advantage,” said Compton of his import who ate alive Jireh Ibanes in the closing minutes.

Walker and his teammates cashed in on Rain or Shine’s four critical errors during their 9-0 salvo at the finish.

The Elasto Painters were ahead 93-88 before running into a maze of errors and misses and thus seeing the end of their six-game run in the tourney.

The Aces, meanwhile, stretched their own run to five games – thanks largely to the 61-point combined output of their frontline combination of Walker, Thoss and Manuel.

Thoss came through with 16 points and eight rebounds while Manuel came up with 14 markers and eight boards.

Alaska outrebounded Rain or Shine, 49-42, and took an important 14-4 advantage on second-chance points.

Thoss asserted himself against Rain or Shine’s second-string frontcourt players in the second quarter, anchoring a 16-to-nothing run that shoved Alaska ahead, 40-33.

The E-Painters made a counterattack before Jayvee Casio canned two charities giving the Aces a 46-45 edge at the half.

Thoss had a rare four-point play to highlight his 10-point production in the second period.

Thoss and Walker combined for 25 points in the first half with Alaska using power underneath to counter running game.

The E-Painters came through with key runs at the start of the game and late in the second period largely behind transition plays. RoS pounced on Alaska, 13-0, on fastbreaks in the first 24 minutes of the match.

Rain or Shine started with an 11-2 blitz, and Alaska played catch-up basketball until its 16-0 salvo in the second frame. (SB)

The scores:

ALASKA 97 – Walker 31, Thoss 16, Manuel 14, Casio 7, Jazul 7, Abueva 7, Espinas 5, Hontiveros 5, Baguio 5, Dela Cruz 0.

RAIN OR SHINE 93 – Reid 27, Lee 19, Chan 14, Tiu 8, Norwood 6, Arana 5, Belga 4, Almazan 3, Ibanes 3, Cruz 2, Nuyles 2, Rodriguez 0.

Quarterscores: 19-24, 46-45, 73-74, 97-93

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