PBA: Alaska Aces emerge victorious in overtime against Air21

(Updated 10:40pm) The Alaska Aces ended a two-game losing skid by grounding the Air21 Express in overtime, 97-91, Wednesday, in the PLDT MyDSL 2014 PBA Philippine Cup at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.

The Aces improved to 2-3, while Air21 is winless after five games.

Calvin Abueva led Alaska with 19 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals. Ping Exciminiano had 16 points in his debut PBA game, going 4-of-4 from long-range. RJ Jazul registered 13 points and eight rebounds, while Gabby Espinas had 11 points and 11 boards. Sonny Thoss sprinkled 11 points to go with five rebounds and five assists.

Alaska head coach Luigi Trillo was relieved to have won after losing a couple of nail-biters. "It was nice to battle and compete and find ways to win. They played quality basketball as well," he said.

"Medyo tight yung mga bata. I thought our defense was good, but we weren't playing to our identity," he said. "In the first few games everyone was moving the ball, pero ngayon medyo gigil sila. Every time they got the ball, everyone was going one-on-one. In the second half, we were more patient and got more guys involved."

The first half ended with the Express ahead, 29-26, with neither team shooting better than 32 percent.

"The thing is they need to find the flow of the offense. It can't just be good defense then run, run, run," he finished.

Both sides were actually coming off losses beyond regulation, Alaska 111-114 versus Talk 'N Text, and Air21 83-92 in double OT against the San Mig Coffee Mixers.

The first quarter was largely forgettable as both teams struggled mightily on the offensive end. The Express though managed to run plays for finishes inside, as KG Canaleta and Vic Manuel guided them to a 16-9 lead after the first 12 minutes.

Aces rookie Ping Exciminiano traded shots with Elmer Espiritu early in the second quarter, in what was largely a defensive showcase by both teams. The Express though did a better job of limiting Alaska to one attempt per possession. Bonbon Custodio's mid-range game helped Air21 gain some separation, 28-20, with under three minutes left, but the Aces though ended the half with a 6-1 spurt off Calvin Abueva's penetration, leading to a 29-26 halftime tally.


In the third period, the Express widened the gap to 35-28 off a turnover layup by Mark Cardona. The Aces called a quick timeout to regroup, and shortly discovered their offensive groove. Calvin Abueva, RJ Jazul and Exciminiano took over down the stretch, as a streaking Jazul knotted the score at 45-apiece, while an Exciminiano trey gave the Aces their first lead of the game with a minute to play.

The Express, who had just one field goal during the last five minutes, tied the game from the line courtesy of Carlo Sharma charities. But on the other end, Exciminiano drilled a triple at the quarter buzzer, rewarding the Aces with a 52-49 lead entering the payoff period.

Espiritu dueled Abueva in the opening minutes of the fourth as they traded shot attempts in the paint, but Air21 eventually knotted things, 57-57, on a Canaleta trey. But while Canaleta struggled alone, several other Aces found their touch. Alaska replied with a 10-5 rally, creating a 67-62 bubble with five and a half minutes left. A Cardona triple jumpstarted some back-and-forth action between both teams, but the Express were found wanting at the line as Asi Taulava went 1-of-3  on free throws. For the Aces though, Jvee Casio and Sonny Thoss knocked down crucial jumpers and kept cool at the stripe, 78-74.

Air21 called for time with two minutes to play and made a beeline for the rim. While limiting Alaska to bad shot attempts, Cardona and Manuel's penetration gave them a two-point edge, 80-78.

After an Aces timeout, Thoss flushed one from the right block with 33.3 seconds left. Taulava backed down Thoss on the other end as he tried to counter, but his attempt went wide. Custodio caromed the miss, allowing Air21 to burn their final timeout with eight seconds to play. They cleared out for Cardona, whose last-ditch drive didn't fall through.

In overtime, the Aces withstood the Express' charges in the lane as their role players shone. Tony Dela Cruz and Jazul accounted for nine of their next 10, as Alaska held a slim 90-89 advantage.

At 1:18, Abueva barreled through the paint for an and-one, 93-89, to put the Express on their heels. Manuel countered with a floater, but both teams came away with misses on their next possessions. Air21 was forced to intentionally foul Jazul with 22 seconds left, who obliged with two freebies to make it a 95-91 game.

Air21 took a final timeout, but would come no further as Cardona's triple from the right wing grazed only the front of the rim. Alaska rebounded the ball and at the other end, Espinas chipped in a deuce to finalize the score.

Alaska shot 33-of-84 (39.3 percent) from the field against Air21's 31-of-83 (37.3 percent) clip.

Air21 led in fast break points, 12-0.

KG Canaleta led all scorers with 22 points and nine rebounds. Vic Manuel tallied 20 points and 12 rebounds. Bonbon Custodio and Mark Cardona combined for 25 points and 11 rebounds, while Elmer Espiritu had 10 points and four boards. - AMD, GMA News


The scores:

Alaska 97 - Abueva 19, Exciminiano 16, Jazul 13, Espinas 11, Thoss 10, Casio 7, Baguio 7, Dela Cruz 6, Belasco 4, Ramos 4, Hontiveros 0, Eman 0

Air21 91 - Canaleta 22, Manuel 20, Custodio 13, Cardona 12, Espiritu 10, Taulava 5, Yeo 4, Sharma 4, Jaime 1, Arboleda 0, Ritualo 0, Camson 0

Quarter scoring: 9-16, 26-29, 52-49, 80-80, 97-91