A couple of unheralded men stepped up and were literal Aces for an Alaska crew that is now knocking hard at a second title series appearance in the PBA this season.

Third-string guard Ping Exciminiano and reserve center Nonoy Baclao stepped up huge for Alaska on Friday night in the Aces’ swashbuckling 95-74 ripping of Star for a 2-0 lead in their best-of-five semifinal series in the Governors’ Cup at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

Not only did both score 10 points each, they also provided great defense to clearly stand out as the biggest difference in the game most experts felt would go down the same way the series-opener did – close and down-the-wire.

“I love Baclao playing like an All-Star and Ping was fantastic,” exclaimed Alaska coach Alex Compton after Baclao went 5-for-5 with five rebounds and Exciminiano hitting all two of his triples in the second quarter where the Aces kept the Hotshots at bay.

“They are not marquee players, as you would call the others,” Compton went on. “But give them a lot of credit.”

Baclao and Exciminiano did not only provide some unexpected offensive sock, but they also helped in shutting down the vaunted Star offensive machine to just 32 second half points.

Exciminiano helped hold Mark Barroca scoreless in the final three quarters, while Baclao proved to be an intimidating last line of defense by changing a lot of shots by the Hotshots inside the paint.

“We asserted ourselves defensively in the second half,” Compton said. “If we give up just 32 points in a half, we have a good chance (against any team).”

With the win, Alaska now has three chances to wrap this thing up and make a title series again after losing in seven classic games to San Miguel Beer in the Philippine Cup.

Incidentally, the Beermen can also move closer to a second title shot this season when they collide with Rain or Shine in Game 2 of their Final Four series on Saturday afternoon at 5 also at the Big Dome.

“All we’ve done is win two games in a best-of-five series,” Compton said as he started guarding his wards against complacency facing a very formidable enemy. “Until we win that third game, we won’t think of the Finals just yet.”

Romeo Travis continued to be a match-up problem for Tim Cone and his frontline, getting away with 19 points and 14 boards that went with four assists and three steals in another sterling all-around effort.

The first half closed out with the Aces holding just a 47-41 lead, before Alaska finished the third quarter with a flurry for a 71-58 lead.

Dondon Hontiveros then opened up fourth quarter action with a booming trey, and for all intents and purposes, knocked the wind out of Star’s sails as the Hotshots never came closer than eight points the rest of the way.

Marqus Blakely fired 19 points to lead Star, but shot just two points in the final frame and couldn’t stop Travis from hitting nine of his total in the same stretch.

Peter June Simon scored 10 of his 17 in the fourth period but got very little help, with James Yap and Alex Mallari scoring the last four of the Hotshots 16 fourth quarter points.

Though there have been many teams that came back from 0-2 down to win a best-of-five series, the way the Aces blew the Hotshots off the floor in Game 2 certainly makes it look like it will be a truly uphill climb for Star.

The Hotshots have gotten little from Yap in this series after the former two-time VP stepped up big against Globalport in the quarterfinals.

In Game 1, Yap did finish with 13 points, but only three came in the second half. On Friday night, he shot only four in the final two frames.