THE rampage continued for the Alaska Aces.
The red hot Aces came through in the clutch to pull off a hard-fought 105-98 overtime grinder over gritty GlobalPort Batang Pier for their sixth straight victory in the 2018 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City last night.
Vic Manuel continued his resurgence, scoring a team-high 21 points and grabbing five rebounds to lead the way for the Aces while Chris Banchero added 16 markers.
Calvin Abueva was likewise solid for Alaska with a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds.
With the game hanging in the balance in the extension, Alaska uncorked a decisive 5-0 spurt to grab a pivotal 101-96 edge with 1:28 left after two free throws from Chris Exciminiano.
GlobalPort ran out of answers, allowing the Aces to escape in the final minute and keep its winning run intact.
With the victory, the Aces (6 wins, 2 losses) could grab solo second place behind the Magnolia Hotshots (6-1) if the Hotshots win their game against San Miguel Beermen (5-1) later tonight. Or the Aces could wind up in a tie with the Hotshots at second if the Beermen prevail.
Trailing them are the TNT KaTropa (4-3), the Rain Or Shine Elasto Painters (4-3), and the GlobalPort Batang Pier (3-3), Phoenix (3-4), the NLEX Road Warriors (3-4) and Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (3-4).
Bringing up the rear are the Meralco Bolts (2-5), Blackwater Elite (2-5) and Kia Picanto 1-6.
The 2018 PBA Philippine Cup includes a single round-robin elimination round. The top eight teams advance to the playoffs while the four bottom teams are eliminated. The top two teams gain a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals against the seventh and eighth-place teams.
Alaska and GlobalPort battled tooth-and-nail in the waning minutes in the fourth period as they traded big blows.
Stanley Pringle was the one responsible for sending the game to overtime after tying the game at 93-all with eight second left after converting on a jumper.
With a chance to win, the Aces were unable to even get a shot off in the final seconds of regulation as Pringle stole the ball, paving way to the extra period.
Pringle led all scorers with 28 points while Sean Anthony had 21 markers for GlobalPort in the losing cause.
GlobalPort had a swift 11-0 run late in the third period to grasp command of the game.
The Batang Pier established the first double-digit lead of the game, 69-58, after a split from the line by Bradwyn Guinto with 2:14 remaining.
Heading to the fourth, GlobalPort carried an 81-72 advantage after that favorable blitz.
But the determined Aces fought back slowly but surely in the fourth and even took the lead briefly in the final minute before Pringle sent the game to overtime.
The scores:
ALASKA ACES 105 – Vic Manuel 21, Chris Banchero 16, Jvee Casio 16, Calvin Abueva 12, Jeron Teng 11, Sonny Thoss 8, Kevin Racal 6, Jake Pascual 5, Carl Bryan Cruz 4, Simon Enciso 3, Ping Exciminiano 2, Davon Potts 1, Noy Baclao 0.
GLOBALPORT BATANG PIER 98 – Stanley Pringle 28, Sean Anthony 21, Kelly Nabong 15, Jonathan Grey 10, Bradwyn Guinto 8, Julian Sargent 5, Nico Elorde 5, Youse Taha 4, Joseph Gabayni 2, Michael Vincent Juico 0, Ryan Arana 0.
Quarter scores: 20-26, 43-48, 65-75, 93-93, 105-98.