Executing beautifully in the stretch, the Aces put the Gin Kings on cliff’s edge Sunday night with an 84-82 victory for a 2-0 lead over the beleaguered crowd-darlings in their PBA Fiesta Conference quarterfinal series.

Heady point guard LA Tenorio found Joe Devance in two crucial instances in the dying seconds that resulted in back-breaking baskets as the Aces, who swept the Kings in four games of the Philippine Cup semis, moved within another victory of the Final Four.

“That was LA creating and breaking the defense down,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone proudly said of his 5-foot-8 guard. “He has eyes behind his head and found where Joe (Devance) was.

“We’ve been very fortunate that we are able to play defense and execute down the stretch.”

Alaska blew an 12-point lead in the second period and was dragged into a see-saw battle by the Kings in the stretch where Ginebra even took a 78-76 lead when Willie Miller drained a triple on the break going into the last 3:10.

From there, it was Tenorio who had the game in his hands, feeding Devance twice, with the last of Devance’s baskets, a baby hook with 10.3 seconds remaining, breaking the game’s last tie at 82 to eventually close out scoring.

“It was a heck of a game, a proud game because no team really gave in and it came down to one possession,” Cone added.

But the Aces had to sit on pins and needles in the last Ginebra possession as Sunday Salvacion was able to put up a three-pointer off the glass which could have won it for the Kings.

The shot looked like it was ready to drop only for the ball to rim out at the last second and seal Ginebra’s doom and put a task on the hands of the Kings that only they have succeeded in doing so in the past.

“I’m just thankful that that shot (by Salvacion) didn’t go in,” Cone continued. “It only goes to show how close this series has been. The first two games could have gone either way and the next three could go either way as well.”

The Ginebra Philippine Cup team this season has been the only squad since 1993 which was able to come back from a 0-2 deficit to win a best-of-five series, doing it in a controversial way when Talk ‘N Text walked out in the deciding game of their quarterfinal match-up.

Alaska guns for the clincher on Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum even as Rain or Shine break a 1-1 tie in its own series with Derby Ace after the Elasto Painters posted a 79-69 victory in the second game.

Solomon Mercado had some pretty crucial baskets in the crunch, making up for a one-point second half performance in a Game 1 loss as the Painters pulled level and grabbed momentum heading into their own critical third game.

“Today, the game was more about defense for both clubs,” Rain or Shine coach Caloy Garcia said after Mercado scored seven of his 19 points in the fourth period to key the Painters’ victory.

Derby Ace was held to its conference-low output after the squad finished with a season-worst 28% shooting from the field on a 23-of-81 clip.

Mercado also had seven assists and Rod Nealy scattered 17 points that went with nine rebounds with Gabriel Norwood shooting 13.

James Yap again led the Llamados offensively with 20 markers but got little help from the rest with only Rico Maierhofer playing above par by finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Import Cliff Brown was again a letdown, winding up with just 11 points and 12 boards.