Alaska broke through in the PBA Governors’ Cup in the tightest of ways on Sunday night after rescuing a win from what looked like a blown chance in regulation.
After losing several double-digit leads to trail Barangay Ginebra late in the fourth, the Aces showed remarkable poise and resolve on both ends and finished off the Gin Kings with a flurry in extension, scoring a 109-100 victory before an animated throng at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
The Aces dropped three of their 15 triples inside the final three minutes over overtime to take the fight out of the Gin Kings with the Alaska defense sealing its first win in two matches by holding Ginebra to two points in the first four minutes of extra time.
LaDontae Henton was hobbled by foul trouble early and was forced to sit out a crucial five-minute stretch in the fourth because of a flagrant foul 1 infraction, developments that helped the Aces a great deal as he was fresh for the stretch.
And that was something that couldn’t be said of Ginebra counterpart Justin Brownlee, who could finish off a sterling debut by falling to cramps when the chips were truly down for the Kings as he sat out the last 3:42.
“Our import was fresh, as it turned out,” Alaska coach Alex Compton told reporters. “Being in early foul trouble and that (flagrant foul) call kept him fresh for the endgame.”
The Alaska win mirrored what transpired in the first game, when Star also notched its first win by carving out a 105-102 decision of GlobalPort, also in overtime, in a game that showcased the talents of former college teammates RR Garcia and Terrence Romeo.
Garcia and Romeo engaged each other in a thrilling shootout, a drama that was completely overshadowed by the beauty of the second game that showed how well Alaska plays as a team and doesn’t rely on any one man.
“Today was great for the fans,” Compton said, referring to the two overtime games. “Ginebra played a great game, but we showed some character out there. We need to win games like this one.”
Regulation ended at 94-all before Ginebra drew first blood just 20 seconds into overtime courtesy of a Brownlee layup.
But Ginebra would go on to notch its next score with 1:05 left as Alaska scored 10 straight to wrest complete command going into the final 2:38, 104-96.
And when the long Ginebra drought was finally snapped by an LA Tenorio jumper, Calvin Abueva, seeing action for the first time in the season-ending conference, drilled a triple with 43.6 remaining to seal the outcome as Alaska tied Ginebra at 1-1.
Henton scored 29 points, Chris Banchero fired 19 with Abueva shooting 12 that went with 10 rebounds. RJ Jazul was the last player in twin digits for Compton with 14.
Brownlee, who came in as a replacement for the injured Paul Harris only on Saturday, gave a good account of himself by finishing with 31 points and 13 boards.
And Compton acknowledged that his failure to finish the game aided the Alaska win.
Meanwhile, Garcia scored eight of his total in extension, while Romeo had blunders near the end of fourth quarter and overtime that allowed Star to win for the first time in three games.
Garcia finished with 26 points, while Romeo, who shared scoring honors with new import Mike Glover for the Batang Pier with 27, failed to win the game at the end of regulation for GlobalPort by losing grip of the ball while going for the three-pointer which should have snapped a 92-all tie.
And with GlobalPort having possession in the final seven seconds and Star ahead, 105-102, Romeo took quite a long time before giving up a pass to Joseph Yeo, who didn’t have enough time to launch a decent shot.
It was the best game thus far for Garcia, whom Star acquired from Phoenix Petroleum by giving up three players.
“RR played like those three players combined today,” said Star coach Jason Webb, who lost Norbert Torres, Mark Cruz and Jonathan Uyloan to the Fuel Masters to get his hands on Garcia, a former UAAP MVP and Romeo’s Far Eastern teammate.

Source: Arab News