Alaska rallies past Rain or Shine anew for a 3-2 lead

Calvin Abueva (Alaska) vs Gabe Norwood (RoS). PBA PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Alaska rose from 19 points down to beat Rain or Shine 93-88 and gain a 3-2 lead in their 2015 PBA Philippine Cup semifinals series on Saturday at the Mall of Asia Arena.

Calvin Abueva redeemed himself from his ejection late in Game 4 to post another double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Aces, who are aiming for their first Philippine Cup championship since 2000.

It was the second time in this series that Alaska had climbed back from a deep hole after taking Game 1 despite trailing by as much as 17.

“I think that’s just the fortitude of the guys that we have on the team,” said Alaska head coach Alex Compton.

The Aces look to close out the Elasto Painters on Jan. 4 also at the MOA Arena. But Compton knows his team has to be ready for its toughest game yet in Game 6 with Rain or Shine fighting for survival.

“Without question it won’t be easy and there’s absolutely no guarantee that we’re there. We have no time for complacency. What’s scary is you have a Hall-of-Fame coach and you give him a week to teach and put stuff in,” he said referring to Painters’ fiery mentor Yeng Guiao.

“At this point I don’t think anybody’s carried momentum into the next game.”

Center Sonny Thoss added 13 points and eight rebounds while Vic Manuel also had 13 points for Alaska.

Raymond Almazan scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds for ROS, which blew a 37-18 lead. Paul Lee added 14 points and seven boards.