The balloons and confetti at the rafters didn’t fall. It will stay there until Alaska and San Miguel Beer play one final game Wednesday.
The Aces just refused to melt down and fade away, coming through with another tremendous gutsy effort to stave off the Beermen, 87-76, and force a deciding Game Seven in the PBA Philippine Cup titular playoff at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Sunday.
Calvin Abueva failed to get going after picking up three early fouls but the rest of the Alaska team played relentless basketball throughout, thus, foiling San Miguel’s first crack at wrapping up the series.
They fight for all the marbles at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the same venue – the first Game Seven in Philippine Cup Finals in six years and only the third in the last 17 seasons.
“We got them where we want them,” said Alaska coach Alex Compton.
“Our guys just played as hard as they did and I’m just proud of them. It’s hard to believe the character of these guys. They just never stopped playing,” said Compton also said.
Meanwhile, San Miguel coach Leo Austria rued they were simply outhustled in the last three quarters of play.
Bamboozled, 4-18, in the first six minutes, the Aces rode the great effort of their reserves as they turned the game around in the second quarter and hung on through the final half.
Dondon Hontiveros, who breached the 1,000 mark in all-time three-point shooting record in Game Five, continued his three-point shooting spree and stood tallest as the Aces frustrated the Beermen and the crowd of over 14,000 that anticipated a championship party.
Hontiveros knocked in 3-of-5 three-pointers and a team-high 18 points that went with four rebounds and one assist in 27 minutes of action.
Sonny Thoss, Cyrus Baguio and Vic Manuel also delivered double-digit outputs while Jvee Casio checked a personal slump, chipping in nine points, six rebounds, two assists and one steal.
“It’s hard, pero kinalimutan ko na yun,” said Casio referring to his combined 0-of-10 shooting in Game Four and Game Five.
“Coach Alex told me to just help the team out and contribute what I can,” added Casio, finally ending a dry spell in scoring a looper off June Mar Fajardo with 7:09 to go in the third period. He made a first basket after missing his first three attempts.
The Alaska second group put in superb all-around effort, pummeling their SMB counterparts, 53-12 – obviously a big key allowing the Aces to stay in the hunt for a fifth Philippine Cup championship.
The Aces were still staring at a six-point deficit, 17-23, at the start of the second half before Hontiveros and Manuel fueled a bristling run that had the team surging ahead at 41-33.
The Beermen got off to a jackrabbit start but hit the wall as Alaska’s bench applied the press in the second quarter.
The Aces turned the game around in the second period even with Abueva confined on the bench after picking three quick fouls towards the end of the opening canto.
With great resolve, the Aces outrebounded the taller Beermen, 46-31, through the first 36 minutes. Alaska had 13 more offensive rebounds than SMB which the Aces translated to 13-5 advantage on second-chance points. (SB)
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