OUTRIGHT SEMIS BERTH WITHIN REACH FOR ALASKA

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Alaska moved closer to an outright semifinal berth by notching an eighth win in come-from-behind fashion 90-84 over NLEX Friday in the 2014-2015 PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

Dondon Hontiveros waxed hot in the fourth quarter, scoring 12 of his 21 in the period on a 5-of-9 shooting from rainbow country while Calvin Abueva got his fifth double-double of the conference with his 16 markers and 19 rebounds.

The trio of Cyrus Baguio, Sonny Thoss, and JVee Casio also combined for 33 points in the game.

But it wasn’t offense which towed Alaska to the victory.

“Di pa ganun kaganda ang opensa namin, but defensively, that’s what’s winning us games,” said Alaska head coach Alex Compton. “This win means that we’re playing as a team, particularly on defense. I’m just proud of that. I think that’s just the character of our guys.”

Alaska got behind by as much as 15, 56-41, midway in the third before Compton sued for time and calmed his wards.

“We knew that we don’t need to score threes every time. We just need to make good decisions, get stops, try to make good shots, and work our way back in the game. Dyan kami nanalo, because of the defense at the end of the game,” he said.

NLEX still gained a six-point edge, 77-71, with four minutes remaining until Abueva and Hontiveros carried the Aces back in the game, capped by Casio’s tying the score at 82 with a  15-foot jumper in the last 90 seconds of the game.

Thoss scored in a bucket in the last 47.2, and Alaska got a stop which translated to a couple of freebies for Abueva in the last 20.6 seconds of the game.

The Road Warriors still had a chance to close in, but Abueva thwarted an inbounds play from Mark Borboran, which was intended to Asi Taulava in the paint, sealing the fate of NLEX.

“We knew coming in here that this will be a defensive challenge for us. Ang dami nilang shooters, ang taas ng percentage nila sa labas, tapos may Asi ka pa. Ang ganda ng laro ni Jonas Villanueva. NLEX can really score, but we held them to 39 percent, so that really was the game para sa akin,” Compton said.

Borboran led the Road Warriors with his career-high 22 points on a 5-of-11 shooting from threes, while Mac Cardona added a double-double with his 14 points and a career-best 14 rebounds.

Jonas Villanueva also chimed in 13 markers in the losing effort, as Taulava, who’s usually good for a double-double every game, was limited to just 10 points and four rebounds. (RL)

The scores:

Alaska 90 – Hontiveros 21, Abueva 16, Baguio 11, Thoss 11, Casio 11, Manuel 8, Jazul 7, Banchero 3, Exciminiano 2, Eman 0, Dela Rosa 0, Menk 0, Dela Cruz 0.

NLEX 84 – Borboran 22, Cardona 14, J. Villanueva 13, Taulava 10, E. Villanueva 9, W. Arboleda 6, Ramos 4, Canaleta 2, Camson 2, H. Arboleda 2, Raymundo 0, Apinan 0, Baloria 0.

Quarterscores: 23-15, 40-42, 55-58, 90-84.

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