ALASKA BARGES INTO SEMIS
For coach Alex Compton, the story of their game against Barangay Ginebra SanMiguel was simple – Zaccheus Mason went down with an injury and the Kings went down with him.
Mason crumpled down with a right knee injury early in the second quarter, and the Alaska Aces pounced on the opportunity to pull off a 92-81 win and book the last berth in the PLDT Home Telpad PBA Governors’ Cup Final Four at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Wednesday night.
“Unfortunately for Ginebra, they lost their import. Still, they played hard. Without an import for 33 minutes, and we still don’t know who’s gonna win entering the homestretch,” said Compton.
Jayvee Casio and Dondon Hontiveros fired back-to-back three-pointers, and Alaska weathered Ginebra’s last stand, setting up a best-of-five semifinal showdown with Rain or Shine.
Like top seed Talk n Text, second ranked Rain or Shine and No. 4 San Mig Super Coffee, the third-seeded Alaska team needed just one game to bundle out its quarters foe.
For a while, the Kings appeared ready to force a deciding second game with a strong start that saw them lead by 12 at 21-9.
But they lost their import to injury, then they slowed down and slipped away, thus, missing the semifinals for the second straight conference.
Smelling blood, the Aces went for the kill in the second and third quarters, surging ahead, 39-33, at the half and pulling away, 54-38, towards the end of the third.
The Kings waged a chase in the final canto, but the Aces wouldn’t be rattled in the highly charged game marked by couples of technical infractions.
Just when Ginebra threatened at 77-81, Casio and Hontiveros nailed lethal treys to frustrate the Kings and their cheering throng.
Casio drained three triples in all and paced the Aces with 15 points that went with one rebound, one assist, one steal and one block.
Gabby Espinas, Hontiveros and Calvin Abueva all put in double-digit outputs coming off the bench. Vic Manuel and Sonny Thoss were two other Alaska players who finished in double figures with 12 and 11, respectively.
Walker struggled with 2-of-16 field shooting, but helped the team put up a tough defense, holding Ginebra to 34.7-percent shooting.
Trailing by as many as 12 early on, the Aces turned things around in pounding Mason’s exit early in the second period.
The Aces eventually seized the lead at 35-33 on a three-pointer by Casio.
Casio, a little later, stole off Emman Monfort then dashed home for a layup as Alaska took the half at 39-33. (SB)
The scores:
ALASKA 92 – Casio 15, Espinas 12, Hontiveros 12, Abueva 12, Manuel 12, Thoss 11, Walker 7, Jazul 7, Dela Cruz 2, Baguio 2, Belasco 0.
GINEBRA 81 – Aguilar 18, Slaughter 16, Baracael 10, Ababou 10, Helterbrand 7, Caguioa 7, Tenorio 6, Mamaril 3, Mason 2, Reyes 2, Ellis 0, Monfort 0.
Quarterscores: 14-21, 39-33, 64-54, 92-81
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