JAY R. GOTERA
Saudi Gazette
MANILA — The Alaska Aces came roaring back from 12-point deficit in the final quarter to stun the defending champion San Miguel Beermen, 100-91, in the opener of their best-of-seven PBA Philippine Cup Finals Sunday night.
The Aces took full advantage of the absence of the injured SMB superstar June Mar Fajardo as they made mincemeat of the Beermen’s defense in the paint. Alaska outscored San Miguel, 58-34, in points in the paint and, 23-4, in second chance points. They also got 75 of their 100 points from off the bench.
Alaska lost to San Miguel Beer in the finals of both the Philippine Cup and Governors’ Cup last season, and is seeking some measure of revenge.
With SMB up by 12 points, 78-66, early in the fourth period, Alaska unleashed a 16-4 to get back into the ballgame.
The Aces eventually grabbed the lead in the endgame, outscoring the Beermen by 18, 34-16, in the fourth quarter to nail their first win in the series.
Vic Manuel scored 14 of his game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter, most of them from inside forays, as he led the Alaska comeback.
Cyrus Baguio finished with 16 points, Chris Banchero added 15 while Calvin Abueva posted a double-double 12 points and 13 rebounds.
With top scorer Fajardo out, the Beermen turned to their guards to deliver most of the points with Alex Cabagnot scoring a team-high 20 points and Marcio Lassiter adding 19 markers. Back-up 6’9” center Yancy De Ocampo added 18 points while Ronald Tubid and Gabby Espinas chimed in 13 and 11 markers, respectively.
The Beermen started the match with a 13-4 run. But the momentum quickly shifted Alaska’s way when Abueva came off the bench to fire up the Aces’ transition game.
The Alaska dynamo nicknamed the “Beast” scored or assisted on nine of his team’s next 13 points as the Aces went on a 17-4 tear to reclaim the lead, 21-17, late in the first period, which ended at 23-all.
The second period saw Beermen going on a 9-3 run to close the half with a four-point lead, 42-38.
Lassiter caught fire in the third, scoring 11 of his points in that quarter alone, as SMB posted a nine-point lead, 75-66, heading into the fourth.
De Ocampo, subbing for Fajardo, then opened the fourth period with a booming triple, to give SMB a 12-point lead, 78-66.
But it all went downhill for the fast-tiring Beermen after that as the still highly energized Aces went into unstoppable mode.
After Abueva tied the score at 86-all after a strong drive, Banchero scored a crucial three-point play, giving Alaska a 91-88 lead with 2:16 remaining.
Cabagnot answered with a three-pointer, but Manuel quickly scored inside, and later fed JVee Casio who drilled his first three-pointer for the night, putting Alaska on top, 96-91.
Banchero scored anew and then Baguio put the finishing touch with an easy layup for the final score.
Arwind Santos was the missing man for San Miguel, scoring just four points on 2-for-11 shooting before fouling out with over three minutes left in the game.
Game Tuesday: Alaska Aces vs. San Miguel Beermen (Game 2 of best-of-7 finals; Alaska leads 1-0).
