ALASKA managed to stay in the hunt for the twice-to-beat incentive after surviving a gritty NLEX side via a 104-98 victory in the Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum Friday night.
The Aces moved up to a 7-4 record and would be assured of a playoff for the No. 2 spot should Talk N Text beat San Miguel, which is still playing at presstime.
If San Miguel wins, Alaska will be relegated to No. 3 and will have a best-of-three quarterfinals series.
Calvin Abueva provided the needed boost by the Aces at a time when the Road Warriors were rallying from a 20-point deficit.
Abueva capped the night with 23 points and eight rebounds and was later named Best Player of the Game.
Not to be outdone, Sonny Thoss and RJ Jazul stepped up for Alaska’s offense, finishing with 19 and 18 points, respectively.
Alaska import Rob Dozier, on the other hand, managed to chip in 14 points and 13 rebounds in his first game after a long layoff due to injuries.
“Offensively, we really looked like a team, we moved the ball really well,” said Aces coach Alex Compton. “The first quarter was great.”
“In the second half, we played a little individualistic. We made plays but left particularly stops,” he added.
Asked about Dozier’s situation, Compton said that the import will be ready for whichever team they play in the next round.
“Healthy na siya,” said Compton. “In our game against Meralco, he wasn’t healthy, but I think we will be off to a great quarterfinals stint.”
Alaska actually broke the game wide open in the first period, erecting a 34-14 lead with Abueva taking charge on offense and scoring 14 points in that frame.
But NLEX did not take this sitting down, as Al Thornton and Sean Anthony sparked a 14-0 run in the second period to trim the deficit to six, 45-51, at the break.
The Road Warriors continued their comeback in the third and managed to take a two-point advantage, 53-51, courtesy of Jonas Villanueva’s trey.
A close fight ensued in the payoff period with both teams never letting up both on offense and defense up until Jazul fired back-to-back triples to give Alaska a 96-93 lead.
Thornton tied the game at 96-all after a trey in the final two minutes, but Abueva was there to neutralize the Road Warriors with a jumper for a 98-96 advantage in the last 1:51 of the game.
After miscues from the imports, Baguio then scored a fastbreak layup to push Alaska’s lead, 100-96, with 21 seconds left.
Jazul stole the ball from NLEX in the next possession and scored an easy fastbreak layup to seal the win.
The scores:
Alaska (104)—Abueva 23, Thoss 19, Jazul 18, Dozier 14, Manuel 12, Baguio 7, Banchero 3, Exciminiano 3, Hontiveros 3, Dela Rosa 2, Baclao 0, Dela Cruz 0, Menk 0.
NLEX (98)—Thornton 37, Anthony 24, Taulava 11, Enciso 9, Villanueva J. 7, Lanete 6, Borboran 2, Reyes 2, Alas 0, Arboleda 0, Cardona 0, Khobuntin 0, Villanueva E. 0, Camson 0.
Quarterscores: 34-14, 51-45, 76-74, 104-98.
