MANILA: Two more victories to redemption.
Imposing its character the whole of Game 5 on Sunday night, Alaska carved out an 86-78 decision of Rain or Shine that cut the Elasto Painters’ once-imposing lead in their best-of-seven PBA Commissioner’s Cup title series to 3-2 at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
It was the lowest-scoring game in the series and one which has now clearly given the Aces all the confidence to turn this thing around and redeem themselves from blowing that 3-0 lead over San Miguel Beer in the Philippine Cup Finals earlier this season.
Calvin Abueva was the sparkplug for the Aces yet again, coming up with everything that the Aces needed from points, rebounds, assists, blocks, the defensive hustle and the antics that enabled him to get the goat of several Rain or Shine players.
And while Alaska got a total of five players shooting in twin digits, Rain or Shine truly struggled in the face of the Aces’ pressure defense and allowed just Jeff Chan and Paul Lee to do some damage.
Abueva hit 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, paced the Aces with 13 rebounds and was all over the place in doing all the intangibles that helped Alaska pull out a second straight win in the series.
It was the fifth straight win for Alaska in a knockout match this conference, counting two in the quarterfinals against Tropang TNT and in Game 5 of their Final Four series with Meralco.
“It was just another proud win for our guys,” Alaska coach Alex Compton said. “When was the last time that Rain or Shine scored less than 80 points, would you (media) guys know?
“Still, it doesn’t change my opinion of Rain or Shine being the best offensive team in the league,” Compton said. “But holding them to (78 points) makes me proud of these guys that I coach.”
Those 78 points were the lowest for Rain or Shine in the last four conferences and it certainly exposed all of the Painters’ weaknesses in offense this late in the series.
Rain or Shine’s coach Yeng Guiao and his players were still in the locker room close to two hours after the game, with Guiao now cancelling his trip to London to attend the graduation of one of his daughters because the series, from looking like a cinch for a sweep for the Painters, dragging on.
The Aces opened up with a flourish, going 13-2 in the first four minutes before the Painters closed out the first period with a 17-2 run to take a 19-15 lead into the second frame.
From there, Alaska’s mental toughness came to fore, engaging the enemy in a nip-and-tuck contest before pulling out all the stops in the stretch to win convincingly for the second straight night.
Rain or Shine was so disorganized that Jeff Chan and big man Beau Belga had a confrontation on the bench after Belga fouled out late in the contest.
Import Rob Dozier had 14 points and RJ Jazul 13 for Alaska, which is trying to erase the stigma of losing that 3-0 lead to San Miguel by winning this championship to highlight its resiliency.
Chan finished with 17 points and Lee 16 but the others who helped the Painters take a commanding lead in these playoffs were held to the bare minimum.
Pierre Henderson-Niles was a non-factor for the second straight outing with just six points and eight boards. Worse, he committed a night-high five of the Painters’ 21 turnovers.
Guiao showed his disgust in his import by sitting him out for most of the fourth quarter, letting his locals try to turn the tables in the stretch, to no avail.
Imposing its character the whole of Game 5 on Sunday night, Alaska carved out an 86-78 decision of Rain or Shine that cut the Elasto Painters’ once-imposing lead in their best-of-seven PBA Commissioner’s Cup title series to 3-2 at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
It was the lowest-scoring game in the series and one which has now clearly given the Aces all the confidence to turn this thing around and redeem themselves from blowing that 3-0 lead over San Miguel Beer in the Philippine Cup Finals earlier this season.
Calvin Abueva was the sparkplug for the Aces yet again, coming up with everything that the Aces needed from points, rebounds, assists, blocks, the defensive hustle and the antics that enabled him to get the goat of several Rain or Shine players.
And while Alaska got a total of five players shooting in twin digits, Rain or Shine truly struggled in the face of the Aces’ pressure defense and allowed just Jeff Chan and Paul Lee to do some damage.
Abueva hit 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, paced the Aces with 13 rebounds and was all over the place in doing all the intangibles that helped Alaska pull out a second straight win in the series.
It was the fifth straight win for Alaska in a knockout match this conference, counting two in the quarterfinals against Tropang TNT and in Game 5 of their Final Four series with Meralco.
“It was just another proud win for our guys,” Alaska coach Alex Compton said. “When was the last time that Rain or Shine scored less than 80 points, would you (media) guys know?
“Still, it doesn’t change my opinion of Rain or Shine being the best offensive team in the league,” Compton said. “But holding them to (78 points) makes me proud of these guys that I coach.”
Those 78 points were the lowest for Rain or Shine in the last four conferences and it certainly exposed all of the Painters’ weaknesses in offense this late in the series.
Rain or Shine’s coach Yeng Guiao and his players were still in the locker room close to two hours after the game, with Guiao now cancelling his trip to London to attend the graduation of one of his daughters because the series, from looking like a cinch for a sweep for the Painters, dragging on.
The Aces opened up with a flourish, going 13-2 in the first four minutes before the Painters closed out the first period with a 17-2 run to take a 19-15 lead into the second frame.
From there, Alaska’s mental toughness came to fore, engaging the enemy in a nip-and-tuck contest before pulling out all the stops in the stretch to win convincingly for the second straight night.
Rain or Shine was so disorganized that Jeff Chan and big man Beau Belga had a confrontation on the bench after Belga fouled out late in the contest.
Import Rob Dozier had 14 points and RJ Jazul 13 for Alaska, which is trying to erase the stigma of losing that 3-0 lead to San Miguel by winning this championship to highlight its resiliency.
Chan finished with 17 points and Lee 16 but the others who helped the Painters take a commanding lead in these playoffs were held to the bare minimum.
Pierre Henderson-Niles was a non-factor for the second straight outing with just six points and eight boards. Worse, he committed a night-high five of the Painters’ 21 turnovers.
Guiao showed his disgust in his import by sitting him out for most of the fourth quarter, letting his locals try to turn the tables in the stretch, to no avail.
