The toughest grind now starts for Alaska.
With five players finishing in twin digits on Friday night, the Aces sealed their place in the PBA Governors’ Cup quarterfinals after a 100-85 victory over NLEX to advance to the game against practically no one in field wants to play: Defending champion San Miguel Beer.
LeDontae Henton tossed in 27 points and Calvin Abueva and Sonny Thoss completed double-doubles with a combined 21 rebounds and 20 points as the Aces, after erasing a 10-12 deficit early, scooted away to win convincingly.
Alaska closed out the elimination round with a 6-5 card, tied for fourth spot actually with Mahindra and Meralco, only to lose out in the tiebreak to drop to as low as No. 6 and draw the Beermen in the quarterfinals.
Not only will the Aces be playing the Beermen next, they would also have to beat San Miguel and its reigning two-time MVP June Mar Fajardo two straight times to make the Final Four, quite a formidable task even for a team as focused as Alaska.
Rain or Shine, meanwhile, booked a playoff for the No. 8 slot after taking care of ousted Star, 108-97, in the nightcap.
The Elasto Painters will be clashing with Phoenix Petroleum for the right to advance, and their game, like the Bolts vs. Enforcers match, is slated on Wednesday.
RJ Jazul started at the point guard spot and drilled in 14 points that went with six assists for the Aces, who also drew 13 points from Vic Manuel.
“It’s nice to have Vic (Manuel) back,” Alaska coach Alex Compton said. “Now that we are safely in the playoffs, it’s a good thing to know (which players) we have.”
Henry Walker fired 29 points and had 10 rebounds to lead the Road Warriors, who will be colliding with the No. 2 team, which will be either TNT Katropa or Barangay Ginebra, in the quarterfinals.
Alaska opened up a 52-37 half time lead and was fluid the entire second half, thwarting several NLEX uprisings to win impressively for the needed momentum going into its clash with the Beermen.
“I appreciate the heart of the guys, I appreciate their effort in continuing to defend,” Compton said.
After the Wednesday schedule for KO matches, the quarterfinals will start on Thursday with games to be played everyday until the Final Four starts.
“We just kept ourselves alive for at least another day,” Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao said after getting 27 points from Josh Dollard. “It’s been a struggle all conference long, but as long as we have a chance to advance, we will keep playing as hard as we can.”
Dollard is, technically, the fourth import for the Elasto Painters this conference after Dior Lowhorn, Greg Smith, who was measured to be over the 6-foot-5 height limit, and then Jason Forte, who was unimpressive in two games.
“We are playing with the form that is far from what we displayed in the last conference,” Guiao said as the franchise’s first-ever back-to-back championships now rests on a bubble against Phoenix.
“We have no right to look beyond the playoff (for No. 8),” Guiao said. “When we first played them (Fuel Masters), they had a different import. And they have become a more dangerous team after that.”
Eugene Phelps has since come in for the Fuel Masters and is 5-3.
Aces breeze past NLEX to seal PBA quarterfinal berth
Aces breeze past NLEX to seal PBA quarterfinal berth
