ALASKA finished off regulation with a flurry and was as resilient in overtime last night, pounding out a 102-100 victory over Powerade that gave the Aces the third quarterfinal seat in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Aces dropped 16 unanswered points inside the final 5:25 of the fourth and Adam Parada capped off their swashbuckling windup by hitting a put-back off a Cyrus Baguio miss with nine-tenths of a second left in overtime for the winning basket.
Alaska closed out its elimination round stint with a 5-4 record, leaving the rest of the field scrounging for the last three quarterfinal berths heading into the final three playdates of the round.
Meralco earlier survived Air21’s stubborn and physical stand to hammer out a 101-91 victory last night and keep its slim chances of advancing to the playoffs.
Building leads of as many as 21 points right in the opening period, the B-Boys stayed alive at 4-5 as Earl Barron scored 34 points and Asi Taulava had 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Meralco is now hoping that Barangay Ginebra, Powerade, and Barako Bull do not win more than four games in order to forge a KO match for the last quarterfinal slot. And with the Kings and the Energy playing tomorrow, guaranteeing that one of them gets to five wins, Meralco’s window even gets smaller.
Defending champion Talk ‘N Text, B-Meg and Alaska have five wins each, while the Gin Kings, the Tigers and the Energy all have four victories.
Ginebra still has two games to play, and Powerade will still clash with the Llamados next Sunday.
“We wanted to give ourselves a chance for that playoff slot. We are very much aware that it is not in our hands,” Meralco coach Ryan Gregorio told reporters. “But there is a small window of opportunity and we wanted to grab it.”
The Tigers missed nine total field goal attempts in the final 5:25 as they blew a 92-76 lead before eventually dropping to a 4-4 card.
Parada finished with 28 points and a season-high-tying 28 rebounds, while Bonbon Custodio, who forged overtime with a corner jumper with 54.9 left, had 19 like Cyrus Baguio.
Meanwhile, Talk ‘N Text tries to move closer to the No. 1 ranking today when the Tropang Texters battle Rain or Shine in a Phoenix Fuel-presented road game at the Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City.
The scores:
First Game
MERALCO 101—Barron 34, Cardona 19, Taulava 16, Mercado 13, Macapagal 9, Ross 8, Espinas 2, Timberlake 0, Borboran 0.
AIR21 91—Douthit 33, Ritualo 20, Espiritu 8, Hubalde 7, Duncil 6, Sena 4, Menor 4, Isip 4, Jazul 3, Omolon 2, Sison 0, Escobal 0.
Quarters: 28-14, 51-39, 73-60, 101-91
Second Game
ALASKA 102—Parada 28, Custodio 19, Baguio 19, Thoss 13, Tenorio 9, Bugia 4, Gonzales 4, Salamat 2, Baracael 2, Reyes 2, Eman 0.
POWERADE 100—David 40, Lassiter 17, Jones 14, Anthony 8, Kramer 6, Lingganay 5, Vanlandingham 5, Casio 5, Allera 0, Calimag 0, Cruz 0, Antonio 0.
Quarters: 20-26, 36-45, 62-75, 92-92, 102-100