Calvin Abueva of Alaska (light) vs Arwind Santos of San Miguel (dark). PBA IMAGE by Nuki Sabio
MANILA, Philippines–In a battle of two undefeated titans, Alaska nosed out San Miguel Beer, 66-63, conquering yet another title favorite to grab the solo lead in the PBA Philippine Cup eliminations at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“Sixty-six points is terrible offense,” Aces coach Alex Compton said after his Aces rose to 4-0 and dropped the Beermen to 3-1. “They (Beermen) shut us down. But I am most proud of the 63 points (that we gave up). And we know how good their players are.”
Those 66 points were the all-time lowest winning score in Alaska’s franchise history.
“The effort we showed couldn’t make me happier,” Compton said. “Our guys are great. This is an absolute character win for us, against a team which I know can win championships in the years to come.”
Calvin Abueva was the solid hustle element for the Aces, while JV Casio provided the clutch hits in the waning seconds, highlighted by four straight points that had Alaska erasing a 62-63 deficit for what turned out to be the final count with still 17.9 remaining.
Cyrus Baguio’s 13 points were enough to lead the Aces, whose only other double digit scorer was Casio with 11. Abueva scored just five points and failed to seal the outcome earlier by missing two free throws off Arwind Santos with 7.3 ticks left.
But the 6-foot-1 former Rookie of the Year, the smallest power forward in a league of giants, plucked down 18 rebounds, seven of them offensive, which gave Alaska extra looks at the basket.
Santos had 14 points and Chris Lutz 13 for the Beermen, who got 10 points and 16 rebounds from reigning MVP June Mar Fajardo.
Meanwhile, Meralco broke away from NLEX early and shot down the Road Warriors, 90-75, in the first game.
THE SCORES:
First Game
MERALCO 90—David 23, Dillinger 17, Cortez 10, Caram 9, Anthony 7, Hugnatan 7, Macapagal 5, Hodge 4, Buenafe 4, Sena 4, Ferriols 0, Ildefonso 0, Guevarra 0, Atkins 0.
NLEX 75—Taulava 24, Cardona 14, Baloria 14, Canaleta 9, Ramos 6, Villanueva E. 3, Apinan 3, Camson 2, Raymundo 0, Villanueva J. 0, Borboran 0, Arboleda W. 0, Arboleda H. 0, Poligrates 0.
Quarters: 25-11, 52-29, 71-51, 90-75
Second Game
ALASKA 66—Baguio 13, Casio 11, Thoss 9, Eman 8, Manuel 8, Abueva 5, Jazul 4, Banchero 3, Hontiveros 3, Exciminiano 2, Dela Cruz 0, Bugia 0, Dela Rosa 0, Vanlandingham 0.
SAN MIGUEL BEER 63—Santos 14, Lutz 13, Fajardo 10, Mercado 7, Tubid 6, Ross 5, Semerad 4, Lassiter 4, Pascual 0, Hubalde 0, Omolon 0, Chua 0.
Quarters: 19-19, 30-38, 50-52, 66-63