MANILA-Philippines—Alaska was back on top of the PBA world again after the Aces toppled the team that, at the start, was supposed to be better than them on paper.
The Aces completed their magical ride in the PBA Fiesta Conference Wednesday night with a 102-88 decision of powerhouse San Miguel Beer for a 4-2 victory in their best-of-seven title series where the Beermen were heavily favored to dominate.
Diamon Simpson scored 28 points on top of 19 rebounds, Cyrus Baguio had 24 and LA Tenorio contributed 12 points, 11 assists and six rebounds in leading the Aces to their 13th title which tied defunct Crispa for second all-time behind the 18 San Miguel so far has.
Alaska earlier eliminated Barangay Ginebra in the quarterfinals, the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters in the Final Four and then the Beermen in this series while playing a total of 18 games since July 2.
The victory, fashioned out before a huge Araneta Coliseum crowd, highlighted the brilliance of the Aces in the playoffs against such great teams, making the championship all the more sweet.
Tenorio and Baguio were named the Welcoat Paints co-Finals MVPs by the PBA Press Corps, with Baguio capping what had been a turbulent year after being traded by Ginebra into a championship and an individual accolade.
“This (championship) is special, considering those great teams, those great coaches,” Alaska coach Tim Cone said on national television. “It’s so sweet when you have the chance to win.
“We had 12 before, but the 13th is so special because the road that we had to take to get here was so incredible,” Cone added. “Could you have picked a harder road to go through? I don’t think so.”
The Aces, like they have done for most of the games in the series, imposed their will early and controlled the tempo in the first half, racing to leads of as many as 14 points mainly behind Baguio and Simpson.
Alaska stayed in the driver’s seat all game but was threatened late in the fourth period when Mick Pennisi hit three straight triples to put San Miguel within nine points heading into the final 4:29, 93-84.
Then the Aces put the game away with the resilience that has been their trademark throughout these playoffs.
Simpson made four of the next six Alaska points, including a twisting layup off Gabriel Freeman with 1:48 left for 99-86 as the surprisingly large Alaska crowd at the Big Dome erupted in wild celebration.
“We hit terrific shots all night,” Cone said.
Baguio hit a putback with 7:03 left in the second quarter for a 41-27 Alaska lead, making the Beermen play catch-up for most of the first two periods.
After missing the three-pointer that would have wrapped up the series last Sunday, Baguio made his first two tries from beyond the arc, fueling a solid first half by Alaska for a 52-44 lead at halftime.
Freeman, named Best Import before the start of the series, was as offensive-minded as he could get, shooting 21 of his total in the first two quarters alone but not getting much help from San Miguel’s talented, high-priced local roster.
In fact, Jay Washington, the tournament’s Best Player, was held to just three points in that stretch as he had more fouls, four, than markers after making just one triple in three tries in 17 minutes.
Simpson had 14 in the first half while hauling down seven rebounds and getting two blocks, with Joe Devance hitting two triples and finishing with 11 of his total after just two periods.
The scores:
ALASKA 102—Simpson 28, Baguio 24, De Vance 14, Tenorio 12, Thoss 12, Borboran 6, Fonacier 6, Robinson 0, Hugnatan 0, Cariaso 0.
SAN MIGUEL 88—Freeman 32, Santos 16, Pennisi 12, Cabagnot 7, Washington 5, Ildefonso 5, Miranda 4, Hontiveros 4, Yeo 3, Pena 0.
Quarters: 28-19, 52-44, 77-64, 102-88
ALASKA 102—Simpson 28, Baguio 24, De Vance 14, Tenorio 12, Thoss 12, Borboran 6, Fonacier 6, Robinson 0, Hugnatan 0, Cariaso 0.
SAN MIGUEL 88—Freeman 32, Santos 16, Pennisi 12, Cabagnot 7, Washington 5, Ildefonso 5, Miranda 4, Hontiveros 4, Yeo 3, Pena 0.
Quarters: 28-19, 52-44, 77-64, 102-88
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