NLEX’s Kevin Alas. Photo by Tristan Tamayo/INQUIRER.net
NLEX booked a historic trip to the semifinals after sweeping Alaska following an 87-83 win in Game 2 of the 2018 PBA Philippine Cup quarterfinals Wednesday night at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Michael Miranda emerged as the unlikely hero for the Road Warriors, who arranged a best-of-seven semis duel with No. 2 Magnolia beginning Saturday night.
Miranda reentered the game with 3:20 left in the game after replacing JR Quiñahan, who fouled out, and scored five unanswered points, a 3-pointer and two free throws, that put NLEX ahead for good, 85-80, with 2:06 remaining.
He finished with 12 and three rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.
“We knew before the game that Alaska was going to get back at us a lot harder than in our first game. Our luck held up and the team deserves the credit,” said Yeng Guiao, who is only in his second season as NLEX’s head coach.
“They really wanted this. They’re very hungry to make the semifinals and make our fans happy, make our supporters happy, our management happy. This bunch of guys were able to at least get to the farthest level that we can get.”
Kevin Alas led all scorers with 18 points, including an acrobatic drive that extended the Road Warriors advantage, 87-83, with 1:12 to go. Alas also grabbed nine rebounds.
The Aces, who drew a beastly effort from Calvin Abueva, missed their last five attempts from the field inside the final three minutes.
Abueva wound up with 17 points and 16 rebounds for Alaska, which had 24 turnovers and shot only 4-of-20 from downtown.