Alaska Aces overcame a maze of errors early in the game to finish strong and carve out a scrambling, 99-96, victory over Terrafirma Dyip in the 2020 Philippine Basketball Association Philippine Cup yesterday, Tuesday, October 27, 2020 at the Angeles University Foundation Sports Arena & Cultural Center Powered by Smart 5G.
An open Vic Manuel got a pass from Jvee Casio then drained a jumper to tie the count, 93-all with 4 minutes to play.
At the other end the Dyip could not generate points after being stymied by Alaska’s stalwart defense. Joseph Gabayni succumbed to pressure and missed two free throws.
Manuel then recovered the ball inside the paint on a broken play then made the layup to push Alaska to a two-point, 95-93, lead with 2 minutes left to play.
Gabayni again could not deliver for his team missing a layup with 3 minutes to play.
Manuel missed a jumper giving possession back to the Dyip. Then Eric Camson drilled a three pointer to grab back the lead for Terrafirma 96-95 with 2 minutes to play.
Both teams ended up dry and could not score on their possessions. Jvee Casio eluded a winded Rashawn McCarthy to convert a fastbreak layup and push Alaska ahead by a point, 97-96, with 1:29 left to play.
Aldrech Ramos, Roosevelt Adams CJ Perez had their chances but could not convert field goal attempts as the Aces leaned on defense to preserve the victory.
MJ Ayaay and Maverick Ahanmisi each converted a free throw to finalize the count, 99-96, for the Aces.
Manuel finished with 18 points, 7 rebounds and 1 steal to earn Player of the Game honors.
With the victory the Aces (4 wins, 3 losses) improved their record but stayed at seventh place behind TNT Tropang Giga (5-0), Barangay Ginebra (4-1), Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (3-1), Phoenix Super LPG (4-2), Meralco Bolts (3-2) and San Miguel Beer (3-2).
The other teams include Blackwater Elite (2-3), Magnolia (2-4), NorthPort Batang Pier (1-4), NLEX Road Warriors (1-4) and Terrafirma Dyip (0-5).
Terrafirma started strong, forcing Alaska to commit 8 turnovers in the first quarter alone to jump out to a 9-point, 28-19, lead after the first quarter.
Eric Camson drilled a three-pointer to extend the Terrafirma advantage to 14 points, 43-29, with six minutes to go in the second quarter. At the offensive end the Dyip players moved the ball well around to get assists and eventually held a 52-45 advantage at halftime.
Robbie Herndon scored on a scoop layup in traffic to tie the count at 59-all with eight minutes left to play in the second quarter. A minute later Jvee Casio drilled a corner jumper to push Alaska ahead for the first time, 61-59.
The third quarter eventually ended up tied at 79-all.
Alaska big man Rodney Brondial was thrown out after being tag-teamed by two Terrafirma players.
First Brondial got into tussle with Terrafirma big man Jeepy Faundo. Both earned technical fouls. Juami Tiongson then pretended to break up the altercation but instead pushed the ball against Brondial’s face. The two earned a technical each and Brondial ended up being thrown out for getting two technical fouls.
The scores:
Alaska Aces 99—Vic Manuel 18, Robbie Herndon 12, Jvee Casio 11, Mike DiGregorio 11, Abu Tratter 10, Abel Galliguez 9, MJ Ayaay 8, Maverick Ahanmisi 8, Jeron Teng 7, Barkley Eboña 5, Rodney Brondial 0.
Terrafirma Dyip 96—CJ Perez 25, Juami Tiongson 21, Eric Camson 11, Roosevelt Adams 11, Aldrech Ramos 10, Rashawn McCarthy 8, Joseph Gabayni 4, JP Calvo 4, Jeepy Faundo 2, Reden Celda 0, Philip Cahilig 0, Christian Balagasay 0.
Quarter scores: 19-28, 45-52, 79-79, 99-96.