MANILA—
Tenorio’s key triple inside the final three minutes quelled the Elasto Painters’ rally from 18 points down and sent the Aces to their fourth victory in seven games.
“To be quite honest, coach Yeng’s team is one of the teams in the league I fear most,” said Tenorio, who finished with 22 points, eight rebounds and three assists in 36 minutes.
Jason Castro swished a jumper from 18 feet with 2.5 seconds remaining, lifting Talk N Text to a come-from-behind 93-91 thriller over Meralco in the other game.
The Tropang Texters notched their fifth victory in seven games and joined Petron Blaze in the semifinals after exploiting the absence of Tim Pickett in the second half.
The Bolts fell to 3-4 and are now in peril of missing the semifinal bus.
“We had no business winning this game. We’re just lucky their import got injured,” said TNT coach Chot Reyes. “They outplayed and outcoached us.”
Pickett pulled his right hamstring with 5:17 to go in the second quarter and the Bolts ahead, 40-33.
The scores:
First Game
ALASKA 88—Tenorio 22, Thoss 14, Forte 11, Gonzales 8, Baguio 8, Dela Cruz 7, Custodio 6, Eman 5, Cablay 4, Reyes 3.
RAIN OR SHINE 83—Reid 26, Buenafe 17, Norwood 10,Belga 10, Arana 7, Chan 5, Cruz 4, Tang 2, Rodriguez 2, Vanlandingham 0, Jazul 0, Kramer 0.
Quarters: 26-15, 45-35, 71-59, 88-83
Second Game
TALK ‘N TEXT 93—Fonacier 16, De Ocampo 16, Castro 13, Peek 13, Reyes 12, Baker 8, Carey 8, Williams 7, Aban 0, Alvarez 0.
MERALCO 91—Espinas 23, Mercado 18, Isip 14, Pickett 11, Omolon 10, Taulava 8, Menor 3, Gamalinda 2, Hugnatan 2, Weinstein 0, Aljamal 0, Ritualo 0.
Quarters: 20-29, 44-56, 69-77, 93-91