MANILA, 22 June 2006 — Tim Cone has a very vivid memory, especially of events that pricked the ego and the heart.
“I’ve learned so many lessons coaching for 17 years,” Cone said just moments after his Alaska side pounded out an 86-77 victory over Purefoods last night, a victory most sportswriters used to bait the outspoken American coach to say that his PBA Philippine Cup semifinal series with the Chunkee Giants is over.
“One of my worst lessons is to never relax with a 2-0 lead,” Cone added. “Especially against Purefoods.” Cone’s Aces won Game 2 of their Final Four pairing with conviction, breaking loose in the final eight minutes behind veterans Jeffrey Cariaso and Mike Cortez and rookie Sonny Thoss to push the the Giants’ collective backs hard against the wall.
More importantly, if the Aces go all the way, they will be able to erase the bitter memories of a pitiful collapse from a similar lead in the title series for the 2002 Governors Cup against this same team.
Nic Belasco actually led the Aces with 18 points, and Tony Dela Cruz added 16 in one of his worthiest performances of these playoffs to help Alaska build leads of as many as 13 points and complete the win in wire-to-wire style.
Purefoods drew level for the only time at 70 heading into the final eight minutes before Cariaso, Cortez and Thoss delivered the goods as the Aces gun for a commanding 3-0 lead Friday also at the Araneta Coliseum.
Dondon Hontiveros, meanwhile, needed just 30 seconds to better his Game 1 output, shooting 26 points earlier to lead the Beermen to an impressive 114-98 victory over Red Bull that squared their separate semifinal series at a game each.
Hontiveros drilled a triple under heavy guard and the Beermen bounced back with conviction.
The streak-shooting guard from Cebu got a lot of help from two-time Most Valuable Player Danny Ildefonso as the Beermen took leads of as many as 19 points to win with plenty to spare and reduce their series into a race-to-three affair.
Ildefonso returned to action after missing the series opener because of a sprained right ankle to score 14 points, even as Danny Seigle was superb as usual and Dorian Peña completed his 15th double-double to hand back the Beermen momentum in the series.
The Beermen did not crumble when Red Bull came to within 89-96, responding like the veterans of many wars with 10 unanswered points to put the game beyond reach 106-89 with 5:15 left to play. Seigle added 21 points, Pena had 17 markers and 16 rebounds and Christian Calaguio chipped in with 11 off the bench.
