PBA: Alaska Aces grab top spot, snapping Gin Kings’ run

MANILA - Who else could stop Barangay Ginebra’s run but the league’s top team Alaska Aces.
 
Alaska hacked out a 102-93 win Wednesday night in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, but only after the surge of Ginebra Kings.
 
By snapping the Gin Kings’ six-game winning run, the Aces obtained top seeding in the playoffs of PBA, or Philippine Basketball Association, regardless of the outcome of their game against Globalport today. 
 
“We knew Ginebra was gonna make a run,” Alaska head coach Luigi Trillo told reporters, referring to his team throwing away a 14-point first-half lead. “But somehow we survived.”
 
Even with his bad back, Cyrus Baguio hit the go-ahead drive with 4.33 remaining as the Aces improved to 10-3 while Robert Dozier scored 11 points in the fourth period.

The latter finished with 28 points and 20 rebounds, winning his personal battle with Gin Kings counterpart Vernon Macklin.
 
Trillo still exhibited modesty, however, saying, “No 1 is nothing but a twice-to-beat privilege. We still have to win one game in the quarter-finals to make the Final Four.”
 
The Gin Kings opened up the second half with 16 unanswered points, although they trailed, 55-41, entering the third period.
 
In the first game, defending champion San Mig Coffee blasted Air21, 80-66, to lift their team into the playoffs thanks to Denzel Bowles and Marc Pingris for churning out double-double figures.
 
Talk ‘N Text, meanwhile, has commissioned the services of Jerome Jordan, a 7-foot Jamaican, to replace Donnell Harvey, who went home to the US over the weekend to attend to some family emergency.
 
Jordan used to play for the New York Knicks in the NBA, or National Basketball Association (NBA).
 
Scores:
 
First Game
 
San Mig Coffee 80-Bowles 29, Pingris 14, Simon 12, Barroca 9, Devance 7, Gaco 6, Mallari 2, de Ocampo 1, Najorda 0, Yap 0, Gonzales 0, Reavis 0.
 
Air21 66-Canaleta 26, Dunigan 18, Isip 10, Omolon 4, Menor 2, Custodio 2, Cortez 2, Arboleda 2, Atkins 0, Sena 0, Wiklson 0, Baclao 0, Ritualo 0.
 
Quarters: 20-16; 39-29; 60-45; 80-66
 
Second Game
 
Alaska 102-Dozier 28, Baguio 13, Espinas 12, Abueva 11, Hontiveros 10, Casio 8, Thoss 8, Dela Cruz 6, Jazul 4, Ramos 2.
 
Barangay Ginebra 93—Macklin 27, Tenorio 19, Baracael 16, Labagala 8, Raymundo 8, Hatfield 7, Espiritu 3, Ellis 2, Helterbrand 2, Taha 1, Jensen 0, Maierhofer 0, Wilson 0.
 
Quarters: 30-18; 55-41; 71-69; 102-93
 

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