The Alaska Aces survived a fourth quarter scare by an upset-hungry Mahindra Floodbuster to reign victorious, 98-90, and seal their third straight victory in the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, Wednesday night at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay City.
“Good start,” said Alaska head coach Alex Compton about the win that sent their card to 3-0. “In terms of the record, couldn’t ask for anything more. In terms of the play, I’m expecting more.”
Foreign reinforcement Cory Jefferson led the Aces once more, scoring 30 points on 11-of-19 shooting along with 11 rebounds. Locals Calvin Abueva and Sonny Thoss also stepped up with 17 and 11 points respectively.
“Obviously, Cory got going early. It helps that your import catches fire early,” said Compton of Jefferson. “[On the other hand] Sonny came in and he played like our import. He got us going on both ends.”
The Aces erected the game’s widest gap at 18, 63-45, in the third canto after uncorking a 13-3 run capped by an Abueva lay-up. However, they coughed it up in the final period as Mahindra responded with a wild 14-4 run anchored by James White to come within five, 87-82, with 4:18 to go.
The Floodbuster could have gone closer, but turnovers hurt their chances. As Mahindra lost the ball, the Aces turned it to points that led to a 10 straight points, ended by a Thoss lay-up to re-establish a 15-point margin, 97-82, with 1:46 left. Alaska’s run was enough to keep the opposition at bay.
“We didn’t like how we played in the last minutes,” lamented Compton of their near-collapse. “Itong opponent, takot ako dito. We’ve lost to Mahindra twice since they started here. Chris has got their guys playing hard.”
White captained Mahindra’s offense with 30 points on 12-of-25 shooting and 14 rebounds. Mark Yee backed him up with 13 points on a notable 83 percent clip, while guards LA Revilla and Gary David each chipped in 12 and 10 markers.
Both teams almost had the same number of rebounds, 47-46, in favor of Alaska, but Mahindra took advantage of those caroms, especially on the offensive end, as they converted it to 16 second chance points.
Alaska will go for 4-0 as they go up against Rain or Shine on Sunday, April 2, at 4:30 PM, while Mahindra will try to end their skid versus Star next Wednesday, April 5, 4:15 PM. Both games will be held at the SMART-Araneta Coliseum.
The Scores:
Alaska (98) – Jefferson 30, Abueva 17, Thoss 11, Cruz 8, Racal 8, Enciso 6, Exciminiano 5, Galliguez 5, Andrada 2, Casio 2, Mendoza 2, Pascual 2, Magat 0.
Mahindra (92) – White 30, Yee 13, Revilla 12, David 10, Mallari 7, Celda 5, Paniamogan 5, Ballesteros 2, Elorde 2, Galanza 2, Guevarra 2, Teng 2, Caperal 0, Deutchman 0, Salva 0.
Quarterscores: 28-18, 50-40, 74-61, 98-92
