Travis Romeo shoots over Mick Pennisi. PBA IMAGES
It seems like no lead is too big for Alaska to overcome.
Not even the defending PBA Governors’ Cup champions Star Hotshots had an answer for the inevitable Alaska comeback as the Aces rallied from 18 points down to win Game 1, 97-91, of their best-of-five semifinals series at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Aces import Romeo Travis posted a double-double with 28 points and 10 rebounds while JVee Casio added 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting from the field.
READ: Factors to decide close Alaska-Star series
“I told them, they’re not our kuya (brother), we’re playing that we respect them so much,” said Alaska head coach Alex Compton. “We felt like we were playing our kuya and we were scared of our kuya.”
It didn’t take long before the Aces had their first taste of the lead, 68-67, with backup big man Vic Manuel completing a three-point play with 33.7 seconds remaining in the third quarter and Casio fooling three Hotshots on a fast break play to put his team ahead by eight, 92-84, with 2:22 left.
Casio made two free throws with 15 ticks left to put the game away after James Yap nailed a contested triple to give the Hotshots some hope, 95-91, 30 seconds earlier.
Chris Banchero was also a big factor for the top-seeded Aces, scoring all of his 10 points in the second half. He also had five rebounds, three assists and two steals in just 19 minutes and 33 seconds of action off the bench.
Marqus Blakely had 23 points and nine rebounds while Mark Barroca also recorded a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds for Star, which is looking to level the series on Saturday, 5 p.m., also at the Big Dome. CFC