Alaska dodged a huge bullet in crunch time to hold off gritty Meralco, 93-89, to earn its third straight win and continue its rise in the 2019 Philippine Basketball Association Commissioner’s Cup at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City last night.
Chris Banchero was exceptional for the Aces, scoring a team-high 23 points with nine rebounds and four assists for a near double-double as he led his squad’s charge all game.
“It was a game we had to have. This is three in a row for us now. We’re going in the right direction,” said Banchero of the Aces’ current winning run.
Vic Manuel also had his best game of the conference so far, scoring 17 points to provide support for Alaska.
The Aces had enough ammo in the end as they kept their poise and held off the Bolts, who put up a gritty threat in the final minutes despite trailing for most of the game.
Baser Amer’s triple with 1:45 remaining inched the Bolts to within just a point from the Aces, 88-87.
However, Banchero answered with a key lay-up in traffic in the next possession to extend Alaska’s lead to three, 90-87 with 1:36 left.
Another lay-up from Simon Enciso, almost identical to Banchero’s, sealed the deal for Alaska as that pushed his team’s lead further to a safe 92-87 edge with just over a minute remaining.
The win moved Alaska to solo fourth place with its improved 4-2 slate, while Meralco fell to an even 3-3 mark.
A 11-0 charge in the middle of the third gave Alaska a double-digit lead, 68-55, after two free throws from Vic Manuel to seize complete control.
Meralco answered with a strong finish in the third canto to trim the team’ gap to only five points, 71-66, entering the fourth, still in favor of the Aces.
It was then a dog fight the rest of the way.
Still, Alaska had all the answers to Meralco’s every challenge to keep the win in the fridge.
Gani Lawal, despite a finger injury, still scored a game-high 25 points and and 23 rebounds in a solid outing despite the defeat for the Bolts.
The scores:
Alaska 93 – Banchero 23, Manuel 17, Daniels 12, Teng 10, Pascual 7, Thoss 7, Enciso 5, Galliguez 5, Casio 3, Racal 2, Cruz 2.
Meralco 89 – Lawal 27, Amer 11, Salva 9, Quinto 9, Newsome 8, Caram 7, Hugnatan 4, Hodge 4, De Ocampo 3, Pinto 3, Canaleta 2, Jackson 2, Almazan 0.
Quarterscores: 18-19, 44-42, 71-66, 93-89