MANILA, 7 May 2007 — It wasn’t beautiful by any means, and coach Tim Cone of Alaska knows how to count his blessings.

Playing bad but still getting away with it, the Aces churned out a 74-66 victory over Welcoat last night that put Alaska back in the mix for an automatic berth in the semifinal round of the PBA Fiesta Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.

The win snapped a two-game losing streak by the Aces, who rose to 8-4 and tied idle Air21 and defending champion Red Bull in second spot, two full games behind league-leading Barangay Ginebra.

Incidentally, the Gin Kings jacked up their record to 10-2 Saturday night, winning handily over the Express, 136-115, in a road game at the packed Holy Angels University in Angeles City, Pampanga.

“They (Dragons) had us confused,” Cone, who struggled for words in the post-game interview, said.

Luckily for Cone, the Dragons came into the game with the same flat form they have had for most of the past month-and-a-half of the tournament.

Welcoat lost for the sixth consecutive time, slumping deeper in the cellar with a 2-10 card to again become the prime candidate for elimination.

Only one squad out of the 10 in the field will be ousted after the double-round eliminations and the Dragons, with the way they are playing, are in danger of missing the playoff bus for the second straight tournament. So bad was Welcoat offensively that it finished the game shooting just 28.8 percent, a franchise low. Its 66 total points tied the fewest for the squad since joining the league in the Philippine Cup, where the Dragons did not have an import.

Welcoat played without rookie center Jay-R Reyes, who missed his first PBA game because of an inflamed heel. He is Welcoat’s leading local scorer and rebounder.

Import Wayland White tried but still failed to truly make a dent and convince Welcoat coaching staff that he is the right reinforcement, shooting just 18 points in his second game. He tossed in 12 in a loss last week.

White did grab 20 rebounds, but didn’t show the knack that he could put the ball into the hole when the Dragons need it most. He also had four steals and three blocks.

Rob Wainwright was the only other Dragon in twin digits with 12, the entire team struggling even if Alaska was not fluid for the night. Second import Alex Compton had seven points and Denver Lopez nine in starting out at the point guard spot.

San Miguel later survived Purefoods, 78-75, for its fourth straight win that put the Beermen in the middle of the 10-team pack.

The Beermen played without import Galen Young going into the final 4:34 but persevered no end to hack out the victory, their fifth in 12 games.

And most everyone thought that the Beermen would just roll over and die after losing a 14-point lead and Young to fouls and with the Tender Juicy Giants seemingly on a roll.

But the Beermen hung tough, as coach Siot Tanquingcen put it, to grind out what could prove to be a very crucial victory in their drive to book an automatic quarterfinal seat which is reserved for the Nos. 3 to 5 teams after the eliminations.

“It was a hard victory.” Tanquingcen said. “The boys played through adversity and I give them all the credit. Galen fouled out and we didn’t enjoy any breaks out there.”

Wesley Gonzales nailed two free throws with 7.4 seconds left to round out scoring, and Marquin Chandler flubbed a three-pointer from the right quartercourt at the buzzer as Purefoods dropped to 4-9.

Gonzales also had a crucial block on Chandler a few plays earlier, swiping the ball away from the Purefoods import that broke up what would have been a lead-changing play by the Giants inside the final 22 seconds.

The Tender Juicy Giants have only themselves to blame, missing six free throws from the 4:34 mark, including three by reigning MVP James Yap, and settling for the outside shot more often than not.