MANILA: Purefoods and Meralco worked out a sweat this time, but still got the job done just the same.

The defending champion Star Hotshots survived Alaska, 96-89, and the Bolts came back from 20 points down to forge overtime and win, 91-85, over NLEX on Sunday night to complete the Final Four cast in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.

Unlike in their series openers where they blew their respective enemies off the floor, the Hotshots and the Bolts worked a lot harder this time before applying the broom to advance opposite the elimination round topnotchers.

Denzel Bowles scored 32 points and had 11 rebounds as Purefoods sealed a return match with Talk ‘N Text in the semifinals starting Wednesday also at the fabled Big Dome floor.

Gary David, meanwhile, led Meralco’s searing rally and finished with 31 points as the Bolts made a Final Four appearance for the first time in their PBA lives, advancing against No. 1 Rain or Shine.

The Elasto Painters, who nipped Barangay Ginebra in their quarterfinal game, 92-91 on Saturday, and the Bolts play Game 1 of their best-of-five series on Tuesday night.

“It certainly got scary there in the end,” said Purefoods coach Tim Cone, whose squad scored a 120-86 Game 1 win last Friday.

“Rain or Shine (coach Yeng Guiao) said they had the toughest battle (against Ginebra in the quarterfinals). I say we had the toughest battle in Alaska. They kept coming back at us.”

“I can't tell you how glad we’re finishing this series with Alaska,” Cone continued. “It’s one hell of a series with Talk ‘N Text, they are playing well and we're playing well.”

Bowles had 13 of his points in the third quarter where the Hotshots took complete command.

Mark Barroca hit five straight points, counting a three-pointer under pressure with 11 minutes left in the third that had the Hotshots scampering to a 75-55 lead.

But the Aces, like they have done for most part of the season, refused to just fold and die after that, coming to within 84-88 with a running jumper from import Damion James with just over two minutes left in the contest.

Alaska then forced James Yap to miss a jumper, but it was also James who had the biggest miss for the game for the Aces in their next offensive, which led to a Marc Pingris basket on the other end for breathing room for Purefoods, 90-84, going into the final 77 seconds.

Barroca then made 4-of-4 and Alex Mallari had two from the free throw line that finally snuffed the fight out of the Aces.

Joe Devance contributed 16 points for Purefoods with Barroca adding 14 off the bench. Yap, the former two-time MVP, added 11 points.

Meanwhile, the Office of the Commissioner suspended one referee who worked the Rain or Shine-Barangay Ginebra game last Saturday after missing a critical call that led to the game-winning breakaway layup of Jeff Chan for the Elasto Painters.

Commissioner Chito Salud, reviewing the tape of the game even without a protest coming from the Gin Kings, determined that one referee missed calling a 24-second violation on Ginebra in the waning seconds.

That miscue allowed Chan to complete his own steal off Ginebra import Michaell Dunigan for the marginal layup, which sent the Painters straight to the Final Four opposite the Meralco Bolts.

“A closer look at the play shows that Jeff Chan tapped the ball from Michael Dunnigan with .2 second left on the shot clock. When the ball was tapped away from the hands of Dunnigan, this in itself did not constitute a loss of possession on the part of the offensive team and therefore did not stop the shot clock from counting down,” said the PBA in a statement.

“For the 24-second shot clock to cease from counting down, clear and immediate control of the ball must be had by the defensive team either by containing the ball with the use of one or two hands and/or dribbling the ball twice if the containment was with the use of one hand or dribbling once if the containment was with the use of two hands.

“A closer look at the slow motion replay reveals that Jeff Chan did not have clear and immediate control of the ball after the tap at which time a 24-sec violation should have been called by the referees.

“Jeff Chan only had clear and immediate control of the ball with his second dribble after the 24 second shot clock had already expired.”

Salud, though, said that the error was a lapse in judgment and not a technicality.

The league refused to name the referee that was sacked for the rest of the conference, although those who officiated the game were Peter Balao, Rommel Gruta and Ray Yante.