PBA: Abueva tows Aces past Express in OT

Calvin Abueva of Alaska (light) vs Elemr Espiritu of Air21 (dark). PBA IMAGE by Nuki Sabio

MANILA, Philippines—Alaska proved to be the steadier team down the stretch as it survived Ari21, 97-91, in overtime in the 2014 PLDT MyDSL Philippine Cup Wednesday night at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Second-year player Calvin Abueva scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter and overtime to help the Aces snap a two-game slide.

“Three straight tough games. It was nice to battle and compete and find ways to win. Give credit to Air21. They played quality basketball as well,” said Alaska head coach Luigi Trillo after his squad improved to 2-3.

Abueva showed the way for the Aces along with a pair of guards Chris Exciminiano and RJ Jazul.

“Ping (Exciminiano) was great, he came in and he changed the game for us. We lacked energy and we needed a lift. He came in and I think he hit four out of four three-point shots,” Trillo said of his rookie Exciminiano, who was picked 18th overall.

“I was fortunate enough to handle Ping in the D-League. He’s a hard-working guy and down-to-earth.”

Exciminiano fired 16 points on six-of-seven shooting from the field—making all of his four attempts from deep—while Jazul had 13 points, seven in the extra period, on top of eight rebounds as both stepped up with Cyrus Baguio and JVee Casio struggling.

Abueva completed a three-point play that gave Alaska a 93-89 edge with 1:18 left before Jazul calmly sank two free throws that made it, 95-91, with only 22.8 ticks left.

Niño Canaleta led the Express, which dropped to 0-4 and which has now lost its second straight overtime game, with 22 points but failed to get touches in OT. Vic Manuel also had quite a performance with 20 points and 12 rebounds.

Sonny Thoss sent the game into overtime, 80-all, on a baseline hook over Asi Taulava with only 33.5 seconds remaining in regulation after Manuel put Air21 up by two 13 seconds earlier.