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Thanks to an explosive third quarter, the Aces powered past Barangay Ginebra, 97-83, for their third straight victory in the 2017-18 PBA Philippine Cup on Sunday at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo City.
It was a remarkable performance for the Aces, who torched the Gin Kings for 37 points in the pivotal third quarter then fended off Ginebra's fightback in the final period. With the victory, Alaska remains unbeaten in 2018 after losing their first two games of the conference.
Ginebra, meanwhile, suffered its second consecutive loss after a shock defeat to Blackwater in their previous assignment. The Gin Kings were playing without Greg Slaughter, who sat out the game due to a strained hamstring.
"We weren't playing well in the first half," admitted Alaska coach Alex Compton, who observed that his players seemed to be thinking too much during the first two quarters of the game.
"The second half, I thought we settled down and played like ourselves," he added.
Vic Manuel top-scored for Alaska with 18 points, 11 of which came in the third frame. Sonny Thoss added 17, and Chris Banchero scored 14 or the Aces. Calvin Abueva had nine points, nine rebounds, and five assists even as he figured in several testy moments in the second half.
Ginebra appeared to have taken control of the game late in the second period, when back-to-back three-pointers by Scottie Thompson and Japeth Aguilar gave them a 44-36 cushion. They remained ahead, 52-49, off an Aljon Mariano lay-up with 7:32 left in the third frame, but that was when Alaska turned on the jets.
A transition bucket by Banchero sparked a huge 18-2 Alaska run, highlighted by four buckets from Manuel which saw him repeatedly burn Ginebra forward Kevin Ferrer inside the post. By the time the dust settled, Javee Casio had coolly knocked down two charities for a 67-54 Alaska lead.
The lead ballooned to 18 points, 85-67, with 6:24 left after Abueva and Banchero conspired for another basket in transition. Ginebra made its last stand soon after, scoring eight straight points to cut the deficit to 10, 85-75, with still 4:13 to play.
Out of a timeout, however, Alaska responded with a Thoss hook shoot, then capitalized on another Ginebra turnover that led to a lay-up for Kevin Racal. The Gin Kings did not threaten again, with Casio firing a late three-pointer to peg the final score.
Compton fully acknowledged that Alaska got a bit of a break with the absence of Slaughter in the game. Ginebra got back Sol Mercado in the contest, but they were also playing sans the recovering Joe Devance.
"They're missing two of their No. 1 picks," Compton noted. "I was really glad to come away with the win. Sometimes, sa liga natin, we have to take advantage of opportunities coming your way."
Alaska pounced on Ginebra's 23 turnovers to score 27 points, and also had 10 steals in the game. The Aces also scored 16 points in transition as they forced the Gin Kings to play at their pace.
Mariano led Ginebra with 15 points and nine rebounds. Thompson, Aguilar, and Ferrer all scored 12 points, but LA Tenorio mustered only five markers as he shot a woeful 1-of-13 from the field.
Alaska improved to 3-2 in the league standings, while Ginebra dropped to 2-2.
The Scores:
ALASKA 97 — Manuel 18, Thoss 17, Banchero 14, Casio 13, Abueva 9, Teng 9, Cruz 5, Enciso 3, Potts 3, Exciminiano 2, Magat 2, Racal 2, J. Pascual 0.
GINEBRA 83 — Mariano 15, J. Aguilar 12, Ferrer 12, Thompson 12, Caguioa 8, Cruz 8, R. Aguilar 5, Tenorio 5, Mercado 2, Taha 2, Wilson 2, Jamito 0.
Quarter scores: 26-23, 36-44, 73-63, 97-83
SOURCE: http://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/01/21/18/pba-alaska-still-unbeaten-in-2018-hands-ginebra-2nd-straight-loss
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