Alaska laid down their cards and trumped crowd darlings Ginebra, 108-99, to start their PBA Governor’s Cup campaign with two consecutive wins Friday evening at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
It was almost cruise control for Alaska as they led by as much as 22, 39-17, but Ginebra roared back in the second half and managed to cut the lead to five, 85-80, early in the fourth quarter.
As the chants of “Ginebra!” pounded the rafters of Araneta, the Aces found a way to silence the disillusioned crowd.
Alaska went on a 15-7 run in the fourth with RJ Jazul starting the rally with a three-pointer from the top of the key to make it 88-80 then import Romeo Travis faded away for a jumper with 4:16 remaining to make it 100-87.
Aces head coach Alex Compton said it was a good thing that his defense clicked early which fueled an impressive 14-0 start.
“Start of the game was pretty tremendous, starting out defensively, them [Ginebra] not putting up points in the board is big,” Compton said. “Romeo Travis, he’s like a general in defense, he can see everything and he talks a lot.”
“That’s what coaches love.”
It was late in the second quarter that Ginebra started to pick away at the lead and cutting it to nine, 54-45.
“Second quarter they forced into turnovers and they made plays and cut our lead,”
Compton said. “They showed heart and resiliency there.”
Ginebra staged a 7-0 run to start the third and cut the deficit to two, 60-58, with import Orlando Johnson going off for five straight points.
Travis put Alaska back up 68-60 with consecutive baskets.
Just for good measure, RJ Jazul knocked down a wide-open triple from the left wing with 3.7 seconds left that nailed the final score.
Ginebra missed three of its players, big men Greg Slaughter and Japeth Aguilar, and guard-forward Chris Ellis who are all sidelined with injuries.
Compton admitted that they had to adjust their game plan when they learned before the game that Slaughter was out.
“We changed our game plan. When you prepare for players like Greg, it’s a different look,” Compton said.
Travis led the Aces with 34 points and 16 rebounds while Chris Exciminiano and Jazul combined for 21 points.
Johnson went off with 50 points to go along with 10 rebounds while Mark Caguioa had 14 points. AU
The scores:
ALASKA 108—Travis 34, Hontiveros 11, Jazul 10, Abueva 9, Banchero 8, Menk 7, Manuel 6, Baguio 5, Exciminiano 5, Casio 5, Thoss 4, Dela Rosa 4
GINEBRA 99—Johnson 50, Caguioa 14, Mercado 8, Helterbrand 8, Tungalag 8, Tenorio 3, Baracael 3, Marcelo 2, Brondial 2, Pena 1
Quarters: 29-12, 54-45, 81-75, 108-99