Henry Walker of Alaska (dark) vs Paul Lee of Rain or Shine (light). NUKI SABIO/PBA
HENRY Walker scored 14 of his 31 points in the fourth period and had the biggest defensive play last night that led Alaska to a 97-93 win over Rain or Shine and a 1-0 lead in their PBA Governors’ Cup Final Four series at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Walker scored the last four Alaska points and that sandwiched a crucial steal of Paul Lee’s pass to Jeff Chan as the Aces won a fifth straight game that started a few nights after being bamboozled by 51 points by the Elasto Painters.
“Obviously, Henry was great down the stretch,” Alaska coach Alex Compton said. “Ultimately in the fourth quarter, we got some stops and Henry just took over for us.”
Rain or Shine went scoreless for the final 3:59 and blew a 93-88 lead, making the Elasto Painters lose for the first time in their last six games and will be the ones doing the adjustments for tomorrow’s Game 2.
“I am young at this job, but I have been around long enough to know that you cannot win a series after just one [won] game,” Compton, in just his ninth game as a head coach, said. “Hopefully, we can build on this and try to foresee the adjustments coach Yeng will make [for Game 2].”
It was an error-filled endgame for both teams, only that Rain or Shine had most of the crucial ones with Lee accounted for at least two of his six boo-boos in the stretch. Rain or Shine had six of their 15 turnovers in the fourth period alone.
Sonny Thoss had 16 points and Vic Manuel 14 with the duo combining for 16 rebounds.
Arizona Reid paced the Painters with 27, 11 and six assists, but he, too, was shut out by the Alaska defense when the going got truly rough.
Meanwhile, San Mig Coffee tries to put top-ranked Talk ‘N Text into a 0-2 hole today when the Mixers and the Tropang Texters clash in Game 2 of their semifinals series at 5 p.m. at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The scores:
ALASKA 97—Walker 31, Thoss 16, Manuel 14, Casio 7, Jazul 7, Abueva 7, Espinas 5, Hontiveros 5, Baguio 5, Dela Cruz 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 93—Reid 27, Lee 19, Chan 14, Tiu 8, Norwood 6, Arana 5, Belga 4, Almazan 3, Ibanes 3, Cruz 2, Nuyles 2, Rodriguez 0.
Quarters: 19-24, 46-45, 73-74, 97-93