Alaska wallops Meralco to take 2-1 lead

Jay R. Gotera MANILA — The Alaska Aces mightily bounced back from a Game 2 loss to dominate the Meralco Bolts, 92-72, Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-five PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinals series. Alaska needs just one more win to clinch the series and advance into the finals. After a tightly fought first half, import Rob Dozier and Calvin Abueva went on a scoring spree to blow out the Bolts. Dozier posted a team-high 25 points on 11-for-16 (68 percent) shooting on top of 14 rebounds while Abueva also had a double-double of 23 points and 12 rebounds. The two outscored the entire Meralco team in the third quarter as they combined for 20 of Alaska’s 28 points. The Bolts only had 16 third quarter points. Chris Banchero also shone for the Aces, adding 16 points off the bench, including back-to-back three-pointers to give Alaska a 66-54 at the end of the third quarter. The Bolts tried to get back into the game, but the Aces held steady and even stepped on the gas to pull away for good. Alaska’s fourth-quarter assault was again led by Dozier and Abueva, but Ping Exciminiano and Eric Menk also stole the limelight. Exciminiano got a highlight reel when he stole the ball and ran down the court for an uncontested layup to give Alaska its biggest lead, 92-70, with 1:13 remaining. Meanwhile, San Miguel is bringing back import Arizona Reid to replace Tyler Wilkerson in Game 4 of its semifinal series with Rain or Shine Sunday. SMB coach Leo Austria said he was the one who made the decision to play an all-Filipino crew in Game 3, adding that he felt Wilkerson had already become a liability for the team after he blew his top following their Game 2 loss last Tuesday. SMB then officially dropped Wilkerson from the team's roster. Austria said Reid is the best they could find at such a short notice. The former Best Import awardee will be cleared for Game 4 Sunday. The last time Reid played for SMB was in the 2015 PBA Governors' Cup when he led the Beermen to a sweep of Alaska in the Finals. Game Sunday: Rain or Shine Elasto Painters vs. San Miguel Beermen (Game 4, best-of-5 semifinals; ROS leads, 2-1).