MANILA—Import Jason Forte powered his way to a double-double performance to help Alaska turn back Barangay Ginebra, 83-79, Saturday in the 2011 PBA Governors’ Cup at the Araneta Coliseum.
Forte, a six-foot-five forward, dominated with 24 points and 20 rebounds to go along with five assists for the Aces, who are tied with Petron Blaze in second place at 5-3.
“Jason (Forte) came up big in the end, he reminded me of Sean Chambers, said multi-titled Alaska mentor Tim Cone.
“He’s great, he’s got a tremendous attitude and he gets along with everybody,” Cone added.
The Gin Kings came as close as one, 79-80, courtesy of a 5-0 blitz capped by two free throws from Ronald Tubid with only 57.7 ticks left, erasing a double digit lead by the Aces.
Ginebra had the chance to tie the game in the waning seconds but its import Donald Sloan missed a tough drive as the Kings, paced by Sloan’s 21 points, fell to 4-3.