LIKE fine wine Alaska Aces point guard Jvee Casio seems to just get better with age.
At age 31, Casio achieved a career milestone by completing his first ever triple double in a Philippine Basketball Association game when he scored 22 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and issued two assists (to go with two steals) to power Alaska past the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 99-95, last Friday.
Casio played an instrumental role in the victory. He converted a layup then drilled a three-pointer as the Aces finally took command of the game when they posted an eight-point, 83-75, lead with 8:02 to go in the match.
The Elasto Painters not only cut the gap but actually took the lead after a basket by James Yap which found Alaska trailing by a point, 94-95 with 1:30 to go in a game.
Alaska Aces point guard Jvee Casio (42) dribbles past Rain or Shine Elasto Painters defender Maverick Ahanmisi. Casio powered the Aces to a 99-95 victory over the Elasto Painters. Vic Manuel got the ball during Alaska’s next offensive sequence. He dribbled into the shaded area, pivoted to his left, then converted a jump hook which pushed Alaska ahead by a point, 96-95 with 40 seconds left to play.
Casio then grabbed a defensive rebound after a Yap missed triple, drew a foul, and then drained the two free throws which gave them a three-point lead, 98-95, with 11 seconds to play.
Kevin Racal finalized the count at 99-95 with a free throw.
Alaska missed the services of Calvin Abueva, Carl Bryan Cruz and Chris Banchero. Abueva and Cruz were in Australia playing for the Gilas national team while Banchero is recovering from an injury.
Their absence gave the other Alaska players their opportunity to shine. Marion Magat played the best offensive game of his career as he scored from the perimeter at will to finish with 14 markers. It was good enough to earn him a share of the Best Player of the Game citation with Casio.
Jeron Teng finished with 14 markers. Kevin Racal had 13 points. Manuel bulldozed his way into the paint for 12 points. Sonny Thoss had 10 markers including a rim-rattling dunk. Simon Enciso sniped from the outside and submitted 10 points.
The hotly contested game saw 33 lead changes and nine deadlocks.
Rain or Shine’s Maverick Ahanmisi fired a game-high 23 points, on top of five rebounds, five assists and five steals. He scored 15 of his total points in the fourth period almost powering the Elasto Painters to victory.
With the victory the Aces (7 wins, 4 losses) climbed into third place behind the San Miguel Beermen (8-2) and the Magnolia Hotshots (7-3).
More importantly the win ensured that the Aces will not finish lower than sixth place which means they advance to the best-of-three quarterfinals and will not be saddled with a twice-to-win handicap.
The other teams include the NLEX Road Warriors (6-4) the Elasto Painters (5-4), Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (5-5), the GlobalPort Batang Pier (5-5) and the Blackwater Elite (5-6).
This means that even if Ginebra and GlobalPort sweep their remaining games to tie Alaska in the standings the Aces will still advance after the tie break because they beat both those teams in the elimination round.
The Aces however will not gain a twice-to-beat advantage even if the Hotshots lose their last game because Magnolia beat Alaska in the elimination round.
Bringing up the rear are the Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters (4-6), the TNT KaTropa (4-6), the Meralco Bolts (4-6) and the Kia Picanto (1-10).