Alaska, at the time when the game truly hung in the balance, came through with another seasoned performance to pound out an epic victory over the Express.
Sonny Thoss converted on a one-handed putback with 0.4 seconds left, LA Tenorio hit three massive three-point baskets inside the final 2:38, and the Aces completed an incredible comeback to beat the Express, 91-89, in Game 1 of their best-of-three quarterfinal series in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Friday night at the Cuneta Astrodome.
“It’s a funny thing,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone, “we got killed on the offensive rebounds throughout the game but we won on an offensive rebound.” Air21, which made it to the playoffs after beating Alaska Wednesday (92-83), recorded 33 offensive rebounds that resulted in 35 second chance points, both highs this season. But the Express failed to convert those mind-boggling numbers into a stunning upset against a team that always comes up big every time the outcome is on the line.
“We were tight most of the time in the game,” said Cone. “LA stepped up and hit some big shots and Sonny was at the right place at the right time. But it’s not over until it’s over, as they say. But I’d rather be 1-0 up than 1-0 down.” Alaska was in this same situation in the quarterfinals of the season-opening Philippine Cup, but lost the last two games to Barangay Ginebra.
The Aces actually stared at an 84-76 deficit with 3:29 left after Wynne Arboleda knocked in a three-point shot.
But Tenorio hit those three triples, Tony De La Cruz drained a corner jumper, and Cyrus Baguio sank a follow-up off a miss by De La Cruz in a 13-5 blast to tie the game at 89.
Air21 had 36.3 seconds to break the deadlock, and Arboleda’s attempt at the left corner missed the mark. Tenorio then took the leather up-court and the Aces refused to call time, with the Alaska ace guard deciding to take the ball strong to the basket instead.
But his shot banked off the back-board before hitting the rim. Fortunately, Thoss was just underneath the basket to put the ball back in with his right hand, leaving Air21 with four-tenths of a second left to send the game into overtime.
Alpha Bangura then misfired on a difficult turn-around jumper as time expired.
It was a heart-breaking defeat for the Express, indeed. The franchise that caught the final slot in the playoffs was on the verge of putting the Aces on the brink of elimination, but wound up one defensive stop short of pulling off a shocking triumph.
Lost in the glitter of Alaska’s amazing victory was Ginebra, which likewise took a 1-0 lead in its separate quarterfinal series with Rain or Shine after recording a 100-91 win earlier.
The Kings capitalized on Hassan Adams’ off-night. Adams produced only 12 points for the game and only had two in the first half.
“There was nothing technical in what we did against him,” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico when inquired whether there were special plays created to contain the Elasto Painters’ import, Adams.
“He just had a bad day. What we have to work on was to get a better overall job_defensively.” Ginebra held Rain or Shine to only 34 points in the first half, but allowed the Painters to score 57 in the second that more or less upset Uichico in a series he thinks is far from being over despite the Kings being just another victory away from advancing to the semifinal round_against Smart-Gilas.
“This series is far from over,” said Uichico. “We should not relax and go into Sunday’s game thinking that the series is still 0-0.” Had Adams performed just a little better, the result could have been different Ginebra led by as many as 58-38 on a triple by Mike Cortez with 9:22 left in the third period, but failed to prevent Rain or Shine from coming back.
The Painters came to within 70-65 at the end of the third period after Gabe Norwood highlighted a 9-0 closing run from 70-56 with a rare four-point play.
“We didn’t execute well in the third period,” Uichico said.
The Kings were only ahead by 76-70 in the fourth quarter when Nate Brumfield took charge. After Erik Menk converted on an attempt, Brumfield scored six straight points to make it an 84-70 ball game.
The Painters never threatened from there.
Showing what an import should be, Brumfield poured in 24 points on 10-of-17 shooting , Mark Caguioa added 20 points, while Ronald Tubid contributed 18 behind 5-of-8 shooting from the three-point range for the Kings, who have so far won all four match-ups against the Painters_this season.
Since Adams had a struggling night, Larry Rodriguez was the one who led the Painters in scoring. He had 20 points, while Norwood added 18 points and nine rebounds.
Tenorio led Alaska with 19 ppoints, Joe Devance had 18, while LD Williams collected 17 points and 11 rebounds. Sonny Thoss reached the double-double mark with his winning shot, ending up with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
