The Aces, underdogs that they are, grabbed a 2-1 lead in
their series Sunday night after the 5-foot-8 Tenorio hit Alaska's final seven
points to move within two more victories of claiming a championship playoff
seat in the season-ending tournament at the Araneta Coliseum.
Tenorio did the most damage in winning time, shooting
those seven points inside the final 44.8 seconds, including a cold-blooded
three-pointer from the top of the keyhole that gave the Aces the lead they
never lost, 86-84.
That shot had come after Jimmy Alapag, another tiny
guard, gave the Texters an 84-83 lead when he drilled in a three-pointer of his
own on the run with 1:23 left as Talk 'N Text, the elimination round
topnotcher, seemed headed to winning a second straight game.
But Tenorio responded to the challenge and drilled in
that back-breaking triple before finishing off the Texters with four straight
free throws inside the final 11 seconds.
Meanwhile, defending champion San Miguel also took a
similar lead over Derby Ace after scoring a physical 74-70 victory in the first
game.
Arwind Santos knocked in a three-point shot with 65
seconds left as San Miguel completed a comeback from a whopping 17-point
deficit to steal Game 3 and regain the psychological edge in the series after
the Beermen had lost an 18-point lead in the second game.
The Beermen held the Llamados to only two points in the
last 4:45 and deny James Yap a field goal in the last 14:05 to bounce back from
their painful 95-94 Game 2 defeat in Game 2.
"Give us credit on our defense," San Miguel
coach Siot Tanquingcen told reporters. "Talent can go only so far. You
have to be able to make stops and give yourself a chance (to win)." San
Miguel outscored Derby Ace, 17-12 in the fourth, dramatizing how
defense-oriented the series has been.
"Nothing's going to be given to you," added
Tanquingcen. "It's very evident that playing against Derby Ace requires
that you come in with a lot of energy, which we did not do at the start of the
game." San Miguel trailed, 45-28 late in the second quarter after a Don
Allado basket.
Apparently, it was the ending the mattered more for San
Miguel.
Derby Ace import Tony Washam converted on a step-back
jumper with 1:23 left to tie the game for the last time at 70, but the Llamados
also aided their downfall with at least three sloppy attempts in the stretch
and one bad inbound play.
Santos then broke the game's last tie with that triple
and Dondon Hontiveros, who went on to lead the Beermen with 17 markers, sealed
the outcome with a split from the line in the final 21.7 seconds for what
turned out to be the final score.
San Miguel's defense worked so much that Washam missed 19
of 29 attempts. The Beermen also had 10 less turnovers than the Llamados, who
had 27 for the game.
Gabriel Freeman, despite playing just 29 minutes because
of foul trouble, was able to pull down 20 rebounds and score 14 points, while
Jay Washington, the Game 1 hero, ended with 12 points and eight rebounds.
James Yap, whose last field goal came at the 2:05 mark of
the third quarter, wound up with 17 points on 6-of-17 shooting while Don Allado
contributed 10 points and nine rebounds for the Llamados, who shot a miserable
9-of-38 from the field in the second half.
The 25 points tallied by Derby Ace in the second half,
incidentally, was a conference low and tied the season's lowest.
