MANILA: Just like that, Alaska put its series with GlobalPort back to the form charts.

With their defense holding up and the offense spread out effectively, the Aces got their turn to deal the Batang Pier a thorough drubbing, scoring a 100-76 victory for a 1-1 tie in their Final Four series in the PBA Philippine Cup at Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao on Wednesday night.

Alaska slowed Terrence Romeo down and save for Stanley Pringle, held the rest of the Batang Pier to the minimum as the Aces will go into Friday’s Game 3 at Mall of Asia Arena resuming the tag of the heavy favorite in their half of the best-of-seven series for a title series berth.

“I hope every single team in the playoffs we can hold to 32 points (in the second half),” Alaska coach Alex Compton told members of the Press Corps. “The story of (today’s) game was that we had more defensive energy, especially in the second half. That’s why we won.”

GlobalPort had just 32 in the final two periods mainly because Romeo never got to hit his stride in the last two quarters because of the swarming Alaska defense that met him up high in the backcourt.

After shooting 10 points in the first period and 18 for the first half, Romeo appeared headed for another 40-point night.

But the Alaska defense allowed him just one basket in the third period and his night ended with 3:41 to go when coach Pido Jarencio pulled him out, together with Pringle with the score at 91-73, obviously to preserve them for the next game.

The loss was the first in the last four games for GlobalPort, a Final Four newcomer which ousted Barangay Ginebra in the quarterfinals and looked very much like it belonged after a 107-93 Game 1 win over the Aces.

Alaska, in practically just one fell swoop on Wednesday, made the Batang Pier look helpless in Game 2.

“It was very obvious that we were a lot sharper tonight,” Compton continued. “We are a far better team than we were in Game 1. We were totally flat then.”

Chris Banchero and RJ Jazul came off the bench to shoot 18 and 17 points, respectively, and JV Casio started out at the point to scatter 13 as Alaska’s trio of guards responded to the beating they got from Romeo and Pringle in Game 1 with aplomb.

Game 2 was far more intense than the series opener, with a record 13 technical fouls called on one play near the end of the first quarter involving Calvin Abueva and David Semerad.

Eight of those Ts were slapped on Alaska counting one each from members of the coaching staff led by Compton and first assistant Louie Alas for entering the floor to break up the commotion.

Before the game ended, a total of 16 were meted out, with the last one belonging to Jay Washington of GlobalPort with 3:41 left in the third period which resulted in the 6-foot-7 power forward’s ejection.

Alaska simply made the most out of the opportunity and completed the destruction of the Batang Pier from there.

Pringle paced the Batang Pier with 22 points, Romeo finished with 20 and Joseph Yeo and Washington combined for another 21.

Meanwhile, defending champion San Miguel Beer tries to put Rain or Shine in a deep 2-0 hole today when the Beermen – with all the momentum on their side – slug it out with the Elasto Painters also at the Big Dome in Cubao.

Game time is at 7 p.m. with the Beermen to come in fresh from a 109-105 Game 1 victory where they came back from 20 points down at the start of the fourth quarter to win.

That was by far the biggest comeback in the tournament, and San Miguel cornerstone June Mar Fajardo feels they might not be as lucky if that happens again.

“We need to start out strong,” Fajardo told Arab News in Filipino after the Game 1 win. “We cannot afford another slow start like that for Game 2. We might not be able to come back from that again.”

“The thing to do is for us to put that behind now,” Rain or Shine coach Yeng Guiao said in a separate interview. “We have to learn our lessons of today (in the fourth quarter collapse) and be able to apply them for Game 2.”