Purefoods ran at every opportunity, contested every loose ball and practically made the Aces bleed for their baskets to prevail in the lowest-scoring Finals game in three conferences as the Giants remained hot in these playoffs.
Counting victories in the last three games of their Final Four series with powerhouse San Miguel, the Giants have won their last four games — all played inside the last 10 days — and fifth of their last playoff outings even after being dragged to seven games by Rain or Shine in the quarterfinal round.
“I may sound like a broken record, but our defense held up today,” said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio. “We made stops in the end and that’s the only way to beat a fluid team like Alaska.”
Not since an 80-75 victory by Barangay Ginebra over Air21 in Game 6 of the Fiesta Conference title series has a Finals game seen a lower combined score. And this could be credited to the tenacious defense that both squads played against each other.
“I really thought we would come out flat and not have the legs to play Game One, but the guys proved that will is more than anything,” explained Gregorio. “I have stopped asking them whether they’re tired or not. This is the finals, no more time to get tired and rest.
“We wanted to be here and we have to give our best.”
It was the first loss for this well-rested Alaska side in these playoffs after the elimination round topnotchers Aces had swept crowd-darling Barangay Ginebra in their best-of-seven Final Four series.
Alaska is actually looking to end a 10-year title drought in an all-Filipino conference, with the Aces having last won in 1999 with a team built around the Grand Slam core of three years before.
There were a total of eight deadlocks and 10 lead changes before Purefoods used an 8-2 spurt to finally break Alaska’s back, with an 80-74 lead proving to be ample buffer heading into the final 35.9 seconds.
James Yap was back to his old deadly self, shooting 24 points to lead all shooters for the night even as Marc Pingris, with his long lost Italian father watching at ringside, completed a double-double with 13 points and 13 boards.
Kerby Raymundo added 13 points, six rebounds and three assists despite playing in borrowed time because of fouls for most of the fourth quarter.
Rafi Reavis and Roger Yap were also factors as the Giants with Reavis having one crucial basket in the stretch.
Alaska was held to a 36% shooting clip, with Willie Miller, the two-time MVP who is the Aces’ heart and soul, making just 9-of-27 attempts from the field. He still led his team with 23 markers, including a triple with 29 seconds left that made it 80-77.
Purefoods, on the other hand, hit 45.7% of its shots.
“As expected, Willie Miller took majority of their shots. Unbelievable, he took 27 shots today, but for as long as the other Alaska players are contained, it’s a good ploy for us,” said Gregorio.
San Miguel won the battle for the crumbs earlier by defeating sister squad Barangay Ginebra, 95-88, in a single game battle for third place.
Dondon Hontiveros scored 18 points and Danny Ildefonso added 15 as the Beermen settled for second runner-up honors after being upset, 2-4, in their best-of-seven semifinal duel with the Tender Juicy Giants last Sunday.
Ronald Tubid, who has turned into a potent player on both ends in his more than two seasons with the Gin Kings, scored 22 points to lead Ginebra, which also got 13 markers from JC Intal.
“It’s never too late to do the right thing,” San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen when asked how third place felt for someone who has the materials to win it all.
“Yes we fell short, but this doesn’t mean that what we won (third place) is nothing,” he continued. “We learned our lessons.”
Danny Seigle and Dorian Pena each contributed 10 points for the Beermen, who led by as many as 61-49 in the third period before putting together a solid performance in the fourth quarter.
The Kings, who have played with a depleted roster for majority of the tournament, had a 70-69 lead going into the game’s final 12 minutes.