Alaska beats Barako, faces Meralco in KO for last quarters slot

JV Casio of Alaska (dark) vs Keith Jensen of Barako Bull (light). PBA IMAGE by Nuki Sabio

MANILA, Philippines — Alaska stayed alive for a quarterfinals spot after edging Barako Bull, 89-80, in the 2014 PLDT myDSL Philippine Cup Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

With the win, the Aces will figure in a knockout against the Meralco Bolts for the last playoff spot 8 p.m. Monday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

“We just lived to fight another day. It’s been painful this conference. Out of nine games, six could’ve gone either way. I thought today we played much better in terms of having killer instincts,” said Alaska coach Luigi Trillo.

“We’re playing Meralco. They beat us before and it’s a veteran team. Just thankful for the opportunity.”

Starting guard JVee Casio scored 24 points, 15 in the first half and seven in the fourth quarter, to go along with five rebounds and seven assists while Gabby Espinas finished with 21 points and nine rebounds for the Aces.

Alaska went on a 23-7 spurt after Calvin Abueva fouled out with still 10:23 remaining. Casio sparked that pivotal run with a triple and a layup before Espinas and Jazul padded on to it, 87-72, with 3:11 left — building enough cushion to withstand another Barako Bull rally.

Despite the loss, the Energy, who dropped to a similar 5-9 record as that of GlobalPort, Meralco and Alaska, still ended up in sixth place due to superior quotient and will face no.3 Petron Blaze in a best-of-three quarterfinals duel.

Ronjay Buenafe scored 14 points for the Energy, whose 21 turnovers translated to 23 easy points for the Aces at the other end.

RELATED STORY:

Rain or Shine beats Air21, seals second spot