By Jay R. Gotera
Saudi Gazette
MANILA — The Alaska Aces beat the NLEX Road Warriors, 100-85, Friday night to gain outright entry to the quarterfinals of the PBA Governors’ Cup.
With its fourth straight win, Alaska finished the elimination round with a 6-5 win-loss record, taking the No. 6 seeding and will tangle with the No. 3 seed, which could either be San Miguel Beer or Barangay Ginebra, with a twice-to-win disadvantage in the next round.
Despite the loss, NLEX (5-6) also joins the quarterfinals cast as the seventh seed and will face off with the No. 2 seed, which could either be TNT or Ginebra or SMB, depending on the results of the games Sunday, the last day of the eliminations.
Import LaDontae Henton was the main man for the Aces, finishing with 27 points and seven rebounds.
RJ Jazul was the top local scorer for Alaska with 14 points on top of six assists. Vic Manuel returned from sick bay to add 13 markers off the bench. Calvin Abueva and Sonny Thoss chipped in 10 points apiece.
Import Henry Walker paced NLEX with 29 points and 10 rebounds. Asi Taulava had 14, Sean Anthony 11 and rookie Glenn Khobuntin 10.
The Aces led by double digits for most parts of the game but had to fend off a spirited rally by the Road Warriors in the final quarter, which saw their lead cut down to five, 75-70.
Alaska tightened up on defense and ignited a 23-10 run to finally finish off NLEX.
Rain or Shine 108, Star 97
The Rain or Shine Elasto Painters defeated the Star Hotshots, 108-97, to stay in the hunt for a playoffs spot.
ROS ended up tied with NLEX and Phoenix at seventh to ninth place in the standings, all sporting a 5-6 card. NLEX, however, secured the seventh seed by virtue of a higher quotient, leaving ROS and Phoenix to play a knockout game for the eighth and last seeding in the quarterfinals.
The Hotshots ended their campaign with a miserable 2-9 record at the tail end of the standings.
Newly arrived import Josh Dollard powered ROS with 27 points, 14 rebounds and four assists.
Beau Belga scored 14 points while Paul Lee added 11 markers and five assists. JR Quinahan chipped in with 10 markers.
ROS went on an 11-4 run in the fourth quarter, breaking the game wide open with the Painters leading by as many as 19 points.
The Hotshots came charging back, cutting the deficit to eight points, before fading anew.
Games Sunday: Blackwater Elite (1-9) vs. San Miguel Beermen (7-3) and TNT KaTropa (9-1) vs. Barangay Ginebra Kings (8-2).
