NLEX beats Alaska to the draw, takes Game One
By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
THE quarterfinal phase of the PBA Philippine Cup got under way yesterday with the NLEX Road Warriors the first victors after beating the Alaska Aces, 105-99, in Game One of their best-of-three series at the Mall of Asia Arena.
Forced to the limit by the Aces, the Road Warriors kept their composure and held on tight to outlast the Road Warriors and draw first blood in their series.
NLEX jumped to an early 15-10 lead in the first six minutes of the opening canto before Alaska started to overhaul the deficit and eventually tied the count at 17-all at the 3:10 mark.
The Road Warriors though would continue to hold sway as the period progressed, outscoring the Aces, 7-5, the rest of the way and claim a 24-22 advantage by the end of the first quarter.
The second canto took a similar route as the first as JR Quiñahan got NLEX to a strong start, racing to a 32-23 lead in the first two minutes.
Alaska inched its way back to within four points, 36-32, with a little over four minutes remaining.
But NLEX would not lose its grip on the control as guards Kevin Alas and Kiefer Ravena kept it humming en route to holding a 50-40 distance by the halftime break.
Calvin Abueva sparked a spirited run in the third period, towing his team to within two points, 65-63, with 3:56 to go in the quarter.
They eventually levelled the score at 69-all with 90 seconds left and took the lead at 72-71 with less than 39 ticks left.
But a buzzer-beating triple by veteran Cyrus Baguio gave the upper hand back to NLEX, 74-72, heading into the final 12 minutes.
Boosted by their strong charge back in the third canto, the Aces got on a roll to start the payoff quarter, sprinting to an 84-81 lead in the first five minutes.
The two teams engaged in a shootout thereafter, fighting to a 96-all count with 2:39 remaining on the clock.
A basket by Mike Miranda with 22 ticks to go gave NLEX a 98-96 lead, after which Mr. Ravena added another deuce off a jump-ball in the middle of the court to give the Road Warriors more breathing space, 100-96, with 18 seconds left.
Alaska tried to claw its way back, coming to within two points, 101-99, after a triple by Simon Enciso with nine seconds to go.
Four straight free throws by NLEX after, two each from Messrs. Ravena and Alas, sealed the win for the Road Warriors.
Mr. Ravena led NLEX with 25 points with Larry Fonacier adding 18 and Mr. Alas 17.
Alaska, meanwhile, was paced by Chris Banchero with 20 points with Mr. Abueva finishing with 18 points.
“Relieved that Game One is over. That’s the good news. Bad news is we have to do this again on Wednesday with a more determined Alaska team,” said winning coach Yeng Guiao after their victory.
Game Two of the Alaska-NLEX series is set for tomorrow at 7 p.m. at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
