Alaska crushes Ginebra for PBA championship

It was a glorious victory for Alaska Milk Sunday night, as they crushed Barangay Ginebera, 104-80, in Game 3 of their best-of-five Finals in PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, in Cubao Quezon City. 

 “We were a bit lucky,” Alaska head coach Luigi Trillo said, as quoted by the PBA, or Philippine Basketball Association. “They have injuries over there and this is a different Ginebra team we played. I think they were a bit tired.” 

The Alaska Aces claimed their franchise’s 14th title before a crowd of over 23,000 at Cubao’s Big Dome, by dropping a 20-3 bomb to claim a 76-all tie. 

“[W]e have built a good foundation for this team and our new additions were the pieces we needed,” Trillo, who had been assistant coach for 14 years before taking the helm three conferences ago, said. “These are good guys, character guys.” 

It may be recalled that Alaska won its first 13 titles under revered coach Tim Cone, who left the squad to join a richer franchise in the league almost two seasons past. He now coaches San Mig Coffee, which was the champion last year. 

The Aces’ third consecutive win did not come easy, however, no matter the big gap in scores. They labored hard for the first three periods, as the Gin Kings imposed themselves on court after losing the first two games by an average of 15.5 points. 

Rob Dozier stayed true to his Best Import accolade by finishing a game-high 27 points and 20 rebounds while Calvin Abueva, Jayvee Gayoso and Sonny Thoss also came up with remarkable performances for the final victory no one thought would be this quick. 

“If anybody had asked me if we could beat Ginebra in just three games, I would have said no,” said the 36-year-old Trillo. “If we were better than Ginebra by 30 points coming into the series, I would have said no.” 

Dozier topped all departments in the Best Import race, becoming Alaska’s first reinforcement to bag the award since Diamon Simpson in the 2010 Fiesta Conference. 

Having averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds in the series, Thoss was named Finals MVP, mainly because of the way he had clamped down on Vernon Macklin, who tied the game for the last time at 76 with 9:18 left. 

Rookie Abueva, who lost LA Tenorio in the Player of the Conference derby, ended up with 22 markers, 11 of which in the fourth period, and 10 boards.

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