ALASKA WRESTS SOLO LEAD
Jvee Casio made one brilliant offensive play at endgame to lace an amazing stand Alaska put up in a tough defensive battle with San Miguel Beer.
As the final buzzer sounded, the Aces were left the lone remaining team with a perfect slate in the PBA Philippine Cup.
Alaska held San Miguel without a field goal conversion in the last 2:28 of play and, with Casio scoring a big basket off Arwind Santos in the last 32 seconds, the Aces squeezed out a 66-63 win in a gut-wrenching duel at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Wednesday night.
The Aces stretched their unbeaten run to four games while handing the Beermen a first loss against three wins. SMB dropped to second place in a tie with Barangay Ginebra San Miguel and Meralco.
“It was an absolute character win for us against a team that can win championships in years to come,” said Alaska coach Alex Compton.
“I couldn’t be prouder of us holding them down to 63 points,” Compton also said of the defensive effort that produced the franchise’s lowest winning score ever.
“We couldn’t score either. It’s a defensive battle and I’m really proud of the guys in nailing the win,” Compton further said.
Before the game, the Beermen averaged 92.3 points. The Aces held them down to 63 in limiting their field attempts to 29 and their shooting percentage to .290.
Needless to say, Alaska’s biggest stoppages came in the end or after Casio put the Aces ahead.
Casio faked off Santos and drained a perimeter jumper and then buried two charities off a foul by Sol Mercado as Alaska surged ahead to stay at 66-63.
The Beermen actually held control most of the way, leading by 11 points once and were ahead by six at 61-55 before failing to score a field goal any longer.
Sol Mercado and Chris Lutz made a free throw each as against Alaska’s 11 points in the last two minutes of the game.
Calvin Abueva was a tough defensive presence for Alaska, finishing with 18 big rebounds to go with five points. Cyrus Baguio top scored with 13 while Casio added 11.
From a 22-all count, Lutz and Ross starred in an 11-to-nothing run as the Beermen opened a 33-22 spread and subsequently took a 38-30 lead at the half.
The Aces rattled in nine quick points to start the game, prompting coach Leo Austria to sue for an early timeout and stop the Alaska momentum.
The Beermen did stop Alaska’s early charge then made their own run to forge a 19-all deadlock at the end of the first quarter.
And the two teams battled to the end.
The Beermen dragged the Aces to a fierce duel even in the continued absence of big men Doug Kramer and Rico Maierhofer. June Mar Fajardo had 16 rebounds and 10 points while Santos had 14 markers and nine boards to lead SMB’s stand. (SB)
The scores:
ALASKA 66 – Baguio 13, Casio 11, Thoss 9, Eman 8, Manuel 8, Abueva 5, Jazul 4, Banchero 3, Hontiveros 3, Exciminiano 2, Dela Cruz 0, Bugia 0, Dela Rosa 0, Vanlandingham 0.
SAN MIGUEL 63 – Slantos 14, Lutz 13, Fajardo 10, Mercado 7, Tubid 6, Ross 5, Semerad 4, Lassiter 4, Pascual 0, Hubalde 0, Omolon 0, Chua 0.
Quarterscores: 19-19, 30-38, 50-52, 66-63
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