Alaska refuses to go down, beats Ginebra to force do-or-die

Calvin Abueva of Alaska (light) vs Jay-r Reyes of Ginebra (dark). PBA IMAGE by Nuki Sabio

MANILA, Philippines – Alaska survived its third knockout game in four days following a masterful 104-97 win over top-seeded Barangay Ginebra San Miguel to forge a rubber match for a semifinals slot in the 2014 PLDT MyDSL Philippine Cup Wednesday night at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Calvin Abueva was focused all game long and it showed with a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds on top of four assists to give the Aces a boost.

“Just nice to see him play well also he has had a very tough conference and I didn’t think he could pay because of his sprain but he’s motivated and I don’t want him to be satisfied,” said Alaska head coach Luigi Trillo of Abueva, who was all over the floor and grabbed eight offensive rebounds.

“It’s just one game and we’re going to need Calvin to do the same thing on Saturday.”

Dondon Hontiveros also had quite of a performance with 18 points, including a huge 3-pointer, that got the Aces’ lead back to 13, 102-89, with 3:22 remaining.

Japeth Aguilar scored 22 points and had 12 rebounds for the Kings, who threatened to turn the tide when they pulled to within a point, 63-64, in the third quarter before the Aces took control anew and for good to end the period.

Alaska led by as much as 16, 92-76, on a Cyrus Baguio basket coming off a steal and assist from the sophomore Abueva with 7:03 left.

The Aces go on another do-or-die game on Saturday in hopes to defy the odds and eliminate the crowd-favorite Kings at 4pm at the Cuneta Astrodome.

“You want to close it out on Saturday but it’s going to be very very hard. We know they will go back to the drawing board and make adjustments.”

Baguio also posted 18 points while JVee Casio had 16.

Center Sonny Thoss and starting power forward Gabby Espinas also notched a double-double in points and rebounds for Alaska, which beat Barako Bull and Meralco to make the quarterfinals.

The Aces’ offense worked in unpredictable fashion with seven players in double-digit scoring with backup guard RJ Jazul chipping in 10 points.

“I think it’s beyond coaching at this point. Those guys are just playing hard. You have Dondon who’s 36 playing his heart out,” Trillo said.

Ginebra looked perplexed at the defensive end as Alaska went inside-and-out with Thoss and Espinas taking turns at the post and Abueva moving well without the basketball with deadly outside shooters either Hontiveros, Casio or Baguio spreading the floor.

“We had a good feel because the back-to-back wins gave us the confidence,’ added Trillo.

The Aces shot close to 50% from the field and made 12 out of their 20 attempts from long range with the 36-year-old Hontiveros making five from deep.

Alaska neutralized Ginebra’s seven-foot rookie center Greg Slaughter, who had to work hard for a measly 12-point output.

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