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LUCENA CITY—Whether in Manila or in Lucena, Alaska just cannot be denied.
The Aces fired a big fourth quarter run to snatch Game 3 against San Miguel, 82-75m on Friday at Quezon Convention Center, inching their way closer to a sweep of the 2016 Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup finals.
Vic Manuel willed his team in the fourth frame, pouring 11 of his 17 points alongside seven rebounds, while partner-in-crime Calvin Abueva also dropped six of his 13 markers in the payoff period to help Alaska pull the come-from-behind win.
“I am really proud of my guys,” said coach Alex Compton. “The pleasure of coaching these guys, it’s hard to express. And they just kept on going.”
It was a gallant stand for San Miguel, which led by as much as 10, 41-31, at halftime behind the efforts of its bench guys JayR Reyes, Ryan Araña, and Brian Heruela.
The tide, however, turned at the 9:32 mark of the fourth when Reyes was ejected with a flagrant two after he landed an elbow on Manuel on a rebound play. Manuel and the rest of the Aces picked up from that point on, capped off by RJ Jazul nailing two huge floaters in the last two minutes to put away the game for good.
“I was not happy at halftime because I felt we got outworked and I thought (San Miguel) had great gameplan,” said Compton. “I keep on saying San Miguel is much winners. We always talked about how they will not hand us anything, and today, they just kept on coming back.”
Sonny Thoss also got 12 points and seven boards for Alaska, while Cyrus Baguio wound up with 11.
The Aces will be gunning for their 15th franchise title on Sunday at Philsports Arena.
Compton noted, “Sunday will be a battle again. From start to finish, we have to keep on coming. I hope we’re all determined.”
Reyes paced the Beermen with 13 points and seven rebounds, while Ronald Tubid got 10 markers.
Arwind Santos shot a horrible 2-of-11 clip from rainbow country and ended up with nine points and nine boards as San Miguel finds itself on a 0-3 hole in the championship series.
The Scores:
ALASKA 82 – Manuel 17, Abueva 13, Thoss 12, Baguio 11, Banchero 7, Baclao 6, Jazul 6, Menk 5, Casio 4, Dela Rosa 1, Dela Cruz 0, Exciminiano 0, Hontiveros 0.
SAN MIGUEL 75 – Reyes 13, Tubid 10, Arana 9, Cabagnot 9, Santos 9, Espinas 8, Lassiter 8, Lutz 4, Ross 3, De Ocampo 2, Heruela 0.
Quarters: 20-17, 31-41, 58-55, 82-75.