MANILA: Game 5 of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Final Four series pitting Alaska and Meralco went down the literal distance on Wednesday night, with the Aces pulling through using old-fashioned hard work.
“I’m just so proud of my guys, they kept playing and playing,” Alaska coach Alex Compton said after a hard-fought 76-70 victory that put the Aces in the title series opposite a well-rested Rain or Shine crew starting Friday also at the Araneta Coliseum.
Alaska couldn’t find a rhythm offensively and turned to its best weapon to gain a third straight title shot and give Compton another chance at winning his first championship in four tries.
“That’s why the feeling that I have now is more of pride,” Compton went on.
“We held them to 70 (points) – in a conference with imports where a touch (on an opponent) is a foul. That’s something,” Compton said. “Meralco is a tough and well-coached team and they are getting better. They will be scary in the conferences to come.”
Calvin Abueva played his usual game – scoring and providing a lot of the energy – and practically willed the Aces to plod on even during the most trying times not only in the rubber match but in the entire series as well.
He finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, scoring eight of his total in the final period, including a tip-in of a Rob Dozier miss that had the Aces grabbing the lead for good, 68-67, heading into the final 1:51.
Meralco played like a team that is so used to high-pressure situations, with Jared Dilliner completing a three-point play off Chris Banchero for a 67-66 lead with exactly three minutes left.
And just when it looked like the Bolts had momentum from there, that would prove to be the last score for the Bolts until the final 12 seconds, when Dillinger also snapped a long spell with a three-pointer that chopped down a 74-67 lead to four.
That long drought did the Bolts in as they struggled to put up decent shots in the face of the unforgiving Alaska defense.
RJ Jazul, who has been pinch-hitting at the point for the Aces in the continued absence of JV Casio, hit four straight free throws and Abueva the other six points in Alaska closing salvo.
Incidentally, Alaska’s advance to the championship series opposite the Elasto Painters practically guaranteed the victory of Abueva in the Best Player of the Conference race, being the only one in the top five of the statistical points race left playing.
Greg Slaughter, the 7-foot Barangay Ginebra center who finished No. 1 in the SP derby, Terrence Romeo of GlobalPort who was No. 3, Jason Castro of deposed champion Tropang TNT and June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel and Carlo Lastimosa of Blackwater are all out of action after their teams got eliminated.
A ticklish decision for the voters would be the Best Import after San Miguel management let go of Tyler Wilkerson after two games of their Final Four clash with Rain or Shine.
Wilkerson would have been the runaway winner after leading the tournament with close to 37 points a game.
That leaves the door wide open for Pierre Henderson-Niles and former winner Dozier to dispute the award, though the two only played late in the elimination round.
Chris Banchero shot 18 points, Dozier had 18 rebounds and 14 points for the Aces, who will be playing in their 30th title series in search of the franchise’s 15th championship.
Dillinger led the Bolts with 18 points, Onuaku also had 18 rebounds to go with his 14 points and rookie Baser Amer fired 12 for the Bolts, who played the best conference of their PBA existence that started in the 2010 Season.
“I’m just so proud of my guys, they kept playing and playing,” Alaska coach Alex Compton said after a hard-fought 76-70 victory that put the Aces in the title series opposite a well-rested Rain or Shine crew starting Friday also at the Araneta Coliseum.
Alaska couldn’t find a rhythm offensively and turned to its best weapon to gain a third straight title shot and give Compton another chance at winning his first championship in four tries.
“That’s why the feeling that I have now is more of pride,” Compton went on.
“We held them to 70 (points) – in a conference with imports where a touch (on an opponent) is a foul. That’s something,” Compton said. “Meralco is a tough and well-coached team and they are getting better. They will be scary in the conferences to come.”
Calvin Abueva played his usual game – scoring and providing a lot of the energy – and practically willed the Aces to plod on even during the most trying times not only in the rubber match but in the entire series as well.
He finished with 19 points and eight rebounds, scoring eight of his total in the final period, including a tip-in of a Rob Dozier miss that had the Aces grabbing the lead for good, 68-67, heading into the final 1:51.
Meralco played like a team that is so used to high-pressure situations, with Jared Dilliner completing a three-point play off Chris Banchero for a 67-66 lead with exactly three minutes left.
And just when it looked like the Bolts had momentum from there, that would prove to be the last score for the Bolts until the final 12 seconds, when Dillinger also snapped a long spell with a three-pointer that chopped down a 74-67 lead to four.
That long drought did the Bolts in as they struggled to put up decent shots in the face of the unforgiving Alaska defense.
RJ Jazul, who has been pinch-hitting at the point for the Aces in the continued absence of JV Casio, hit four straight free throws and Abueva the other six points in Alaska closing salvo.
Incidentally, Alaska’s advance to the championship series opposite the Elasto Painters practically guaranteed the victory of Abueva in the Best Player of the Conference race, being the only one in the top five of the statistical points race left playing.
Greg Slaughter, the 7-foot Barangay Ginebra center who finished No. 1 in the SP derby, Terrence Romeo of GlobalPort who was No. 3, Jason Castro of deposed champion Tropang TNT and June Mar Fajardo of San Miguel and Carlo Lastimosa of Blackwater are all out of action after their teams got eliminated.
A ticklish decision for the voters would be the Best Import after San Miguel management let go of Tyler Wilkerson after two games of their Final Four clash with Rain or Shine.
Wilkerson would have been the runaway winner after leading the tournament with close to 37 points a game.
That leaves the door wide open for Pierre Henderson-Niles and former winner Dozier to dispute the award, though the two only played late in the elimination round.
Chris Banchero shot 18 points, Dozier had 18 rebounds and 14 points for the Aces, who will be playing in their 30th title series in search of the franchise’s 15th championship.
Dillinger led the Bolts with 18 points, Onuaku also had 18 rebounds to go with his 14 points and rookie Baser Amer fired 12 for the Bolts, who played the best conference of their PBA existence that started in the 2010 Season.
