MANILA, 24 May 2007 — Victories come at a high price, sometimes.
Alaska last night held off Air21, 117-107, to claim a piece of the PBA Fiesta Cup lead, but it could prove to be a costly win that will impact on the hard-working Aces after import Rosell Ellis sustained a hamstring pull with the the elimination round nearing the homestretch.
“We won the battle, hopefully we can win the war,” Alaska coach Tim Cone said in obvious reference to the injury sustained by Ellis, which could keep the all-around import out for the rest of the tournament.
Willie Miller again came to the aid of Alaska, justifying Cone’s label on him “ as my second import” after shooting 10 of his 25 points in the fourth period that kept the Express in check and eventually boosted the Aces to an 11-5 card. It was already good for a tie with idle defending champion Red Bull for the lead and both squads break that deadlock on Saturday in Butuan with Ellis listed as doubtful. That game will not only be for the solo lead, for the first of two automatic berths in the semifinals could also be on the line. The Bulls humbled the Aces in overtime the first time they met at the Olivarez gym in Paranaque after James Penny scored a tournament-high 44 points.
Ellis limped out with 4:23 left in the third period and the Aces down by three points, but instead of crumbling, Alaska fought harder against an Air21 side that ran at every opportunity and challenged every shot inside the paint. The Aces put the game to bed with a 10-2 spurt in the final four minutes.
Nino Canaleta, the slam dunk king for the past three seasons, and rookie Arwind Santos hit three straight triples between them that shoved the Express to 101-105.
Mike Cortez, Cone’s super guard who is playing just his third game after being out for the last seven months because of an ACL tear, played big by shooting 14 points, eight in the final frame, that also helped the Aces.
Air21 thus dropped a third straight game, its chances of making the semifinals outright dimming with every setback. While the Express have been on a slump, San Miguel sustained its winning ways later, taking care of the Welcoat Dragons early enroute to a truly impressive 119-79 victory in the second game also at the Ynares Center.
Eight San Miguel players led by Danny Ildefonso’s 20 points scored 10 or more for coach Siot Tanquingcen, who has brandished his magic touch and turned what looked like a whipping team into a solid title threat.
As things stand, the Beermen are now at 8-7 after their seventh straight win, the longest in the tournament, and joining the fight for one of those two Final Four berths has suddenly looked realizeable at this point.
The Dragons dropped to 3-13 overall and are again close to getting the curtains for the second straight tournament in their young PBA existence. Welcoat also got the boot in the Philippine Cup after losing their last nine games. Tanquingcen, though, did not really want to talk about an outright semifinal spot. San Miguel was such in control early that Tanquingcen did not find the need to utilize import Galen Young past the first half, which ended 56-33. Young scored all of his 12 points in the first period and was the team’s No. 1 cheerleader in the final two periods.
Wayland White scored 29 and Alex Compton added 20 for the Dragons.
