PBA: Casio connects for 21 as Alaska forces do-or-die against San Mig Coffee

The Alaska Aces forced a do-or-die game for a semifinals berth on Friday, after claiming a 112-105 victory over the San Mig Coffee Mixers in the quarterfinals of the 2013 PBA Governors' Cup, Wednesday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.

The second-ranked SMC Mixers were forced to use their twice-to-beat advantage against the seventh-seeded Alaska squad, who won it all in the previous conference.

Down by 12 points in the fourth quarter, the Aces could have given up, but they gallantly fought back to score the big win. Wendell McKines and Jvee Casio combined for 17 points in the final canto to spearhead the Alaska comeback. In the end, McKines repeatedly leaked out and his teammates often found him wide open for easy baskets to get the victory.

"We can’t be satisfied now. We can’t celebrate. We have one more game to take care of,” said Alaska head coach Luigi Trillo. “They have the deepest lineup with the addition of [Allein] Maliksi and [Alex] Mallari. If you face them in a best of seven games, they have the capability to adjust so this is the best time to face them.”

The Aces outscored the Mixers 31-16 in the final quarter to complete the come-from-behind victory. After the win, Trillo reminded the press that the Mixers can be defeated even if they are holding a twice-to-beat advantage. “They were beaten by Powerade and that’s fresh in our minds,” said the young coach, referring to the first round of the 2011-12 Philippine Cup, when San Mig Coffee, then known as the BMEG Llamados, fell in two games to the underdog Powerade Tigers, despite holding a twice-to-beat advantage.

McKines finished with 38 points, 13 rebounds and five assiss. Jvee Casio added 21 markers, seven assists and three steals, while Sonny Thoss and Cyrus Baguio each scored 17.

A basket down low from Marqus Blakely at the 8:25 mark of the first gave the Mixers an 11-7 lead. Wendell McKines, however, replied with a triple at the other end to bring his Aces to within one.

Another McKines basket at the 5:33 mark gave the Aces a 16-15 lead, but Blakely quickly tied it up with a free throw. The Aces then uncorked a 6-0 run capped by a fast break layup from Jvee Casio for a 22-16 lead. The Mixers replied with a 5-0 blast from PJ Simon and Joe Devance to stay close to the Aces.

Alaska though ended the first quarter with an 8-0 run to grab a 30-21 lead.

“I was glad with the way we stepped up defensively,” Trillo said. “Blakely is a beast but he still needs to prove he can make his free throws.” Blakely missed 13 of his 22 free throw attempts in the game. In comparison, McKines shot 13-of-16 from the same area. Blakely also turned the ball over multiple times in the fourth quarter, which aided the Mixers' demise.

PJ Simon made his presence felt early in the second quarter as he scored two baskets and assisted on one. The Mixers got to within four at 32-28 with 10:26 remaining in the first half. Simon then knotted the ball game at 34-all, but Alaska responded with a 5-0 run to go up 39-34.

The Aces erected a 51-43 lead, but two baskets from Blakely cut the lead in half. James Yap added a finger roll at the 4:04 mark of the second to cut Alaska's lead down to two at 51-49.

Two free throws from Rafi Reavis knotted the game anew at 54-all with 2:16 to go. The Mixers then grabbed the lead after a basket from Joe Devance, but the Aces edged ahead entering halftime, 59-58, thanks to a late triple from Cyrus Baguio.

McKines led all scorers at the half with 23, 10 of which came from the free throw line. Thoss backed him up with 10, while Casio and Baguio both chipped in eight points. San Mig Coffee, on the other hand, was led by Blakely with 16 points, although he shot an atrocious 6-of-15 clip from the free throw area. Simon had 11 points, while James Yap had nine for the Mixers.

The first half of the game was foul-plagued, with a total of 33 fouls called in the initial 24 minutes. The biggest victim was Tony Dela Cruz, who already had five fouls, while Sonny Thoss, CalvinAbueva, and Baguio each had three. The Mixers were not spared from foul trouble as Marc Pingris had been whistled for four, while Blakely had three.

San Mig Coffee actually shot better from the floor at 55.3 percent, compared to Alaska’s 48.8 percent clip, but the Aces dominated the boards 28-16. Alaska had six more offensive rebounds, which translated to more second-chance points.


The two teams had a see-saw battle early in the third quarter. A Pingris dunk gave the Mixers a 66-63 lead, but RJ Jazul quickly tied the game with a triple. At the 8:34 mark, Abueva was called for a a flagrant foul on Blakely. The import and Pingris then tag-teamed to give the Mixers a 70-66 lead.

The Mixers tried to pull away with inside baskets from Blakely and Reavis, but McKines kept the Aces close. Simon then dished off a pretty alley-oop pass that Blakely turned into a two-handed dunk with 3:43 left in the third. Reavis followed this with another basket down low to give the Mixers an 83-74 lead.

Reavis raised their lead to 11 points but Casio and Thoss combined to bring it down to just six at 85-79. A Simon jumper settled the score at 89-81 heading into the final period.

Allein Maliksi started the fourth quarter by completing a four-point play to raise the San Mig Coffee lead to 12 points, but Baguio made consecutive baskets to bring it down to eight. He then added a triple at the 8:05 mark of the fourth to cut Alaska's deficit further to 95-90.

McKines and Thoss scored at will from inside to give Alaska a 98-97 lead with 5:01 left in the fourth. Barroca made a long two to retake the lead for San Mig, but it did not last long as Casio completed a four-point play on the other end for a 102-99 Alaska lead.

After a Blakely free throw, Thoss completed a three-point play to give Alaska a five-point advantage. With a do-or-die game looming, Blakely stepped in and made two free throws to cut the Alaska lead down to three.

The Mixers, however, turned the ball over, leading to another McKines fast break dunk for a 107-102 lead with only 47 seconds left in the game.

Pingris was fouled on the next play but he missed both his free throws. McKines then leaked out, leading to another easy two, plus a foul to seal the win for the Aces.

Blakely scored 27 points in the game but he ran out of steam in the fourth quarter. Simon had 15 and Reavis had 12 for the Mixers, while Yap and Pingris added 11 apiece. However, all of those four failed to score in the final period.

In total, 56 fouls were called in the game but Trillo expects it to be even worse in the next game. “You can expect both teams to be more physical next game,” Trillo said in closing. “We cherish and welcome this kind of competition.”  - RAF, GMA News


The scores:

Alaska 112 - McKines 38, Casio 21, Thoss 17, Baguio 17, Espinas 7, Abueva 5, Dela Cruz 4, Jazul 3, Hontiveros 0

San Mig Coffee 105 - Blakely 27, Simon 15, Reavis 12, Yap 11, Pingris 11, Devance 10, Maliksi 8, Barroca 6, Mallari 5

Quarter scoring: 30-21, 59-58, 81-89, 112-105