Alaska fought back from a third-quarter deficit and finished off Globalport, 109-103, to maintain its winning run in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup Saturday at Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Aces were down 71-58 midway through the third quarter but went on a fiery 14-2 run, capped off with a three-pointer from Simon Enciso, to turn the deficit into an 85-83 lead heading into the fourth.
Alaska’s spirited fight extended its wins streak to five games for a 5-1 record while the Batang Pier fell off the .500 territory and dropped to a 3-4 card.
“I love the grit and I expected that we needed it this game, Globalport is one of the grittiest teams in the league, the guys in that team are physical and they play hard,” said Alaska head coach Alex Compton.
Globalport regained the lead, 90-87, early in the fourth before Alaska went on another scoring spurt with Vic Manuel converting on two consecutive baseline jumpers to cap off the 18-3 run for a 105-93 lead with 2:48 left.
Sean Anthony gave the Batang Pier one last gasp of hope with a three-pointer to cut the deficit to 107-104, but JVee Casio took Pao Javelona to the cup for the game’s final field goal with 39 seconds left in the game.
Vic Manuel finished with a team-high 22 points to lead the Aces while Chris Banchero added 19 points, five boards, and seven assists.
Antonio Campbell had 18 and 18 rebounds to help Alaska while Casio and Racal chipped in 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Malcolm White had 27 ponts and six rebounds to lead Globalport while Stanley Pringle finished with 26 points and six assists.