Jay R. Gotera
MANILA — The Alaska Aces weathered a furious endgame storm before finally disposing of the Mahindra Enforcers, 98-94, late Friday at the Al-Wasl Sports Club in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in the first overseas game of this season’s PBA Philippine Cup.
Alaska thus tied Rain or Shine at the top of the standings with its third straight victory.
Mahindra dropped to the bottom of the pack with its third straight defeat.
Vic Manuel led the Aces with 17 points and nine rebounds while Calvin Abueva posted a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds off the bench. JVee Casio added 12 markers.
The Aces tried to blow away the Enforcers in the first half as they raced to a 15-point lead. But the Enforcers proved they were no pushovers as they clawed their way back in the second half.
Mahindra even managed to level the score at 87-all with just 1:27 left in the game as Aldrech Ramos scored on a fade-away jumper.
But Casio, Abueva and Manuel refused to be bullied by the young guns of Mahindra as they erected a five-point lead for Alaska.
LA Revilla then scored back-to-back layups for Mahinda, with the last one cutting Alaska’s lead to two, 96-94, with just five seconds left.
However, Casio and Abueva split their respective charities to secure the win for Alaska.
The Aces will now try to gain solo leadership of the conference as they go up against the Barangay Ginebra Kings Saturday night, also in Dubai.
Revilla was the top scorer for Mahindra with 19 points on top of six assists. Mark Yee starred in Mahindra’s third quarter comeback, finishing with 17 points and 13 rebounds.
Mahindra playing coach Manny Pacquiao inserted himself in his team’s starting five but missed all four of his attempts in 6:55 minutes of action.
Game Saturday, 8 p.m. Dubai, UAE: Barangay Ginebra Kings vs. Alaska Aces.
