Alaska catches fire in OT to repel Ginebra

MANILA, Philippines – The Alaska Aces connected from beyond the arc late in overtime to repel Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 109-100, for their first win in the 2016 PBA Governors’ Cup on Sunday, July 24, at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Import Ladontae Henton topscored with 29 points and 9 rebounds despite sitting out for 5 minutes late in the fourth after getting slapped with a flagrant foul penalty 1. His 3-pointer with over 3 minutes left in overtime turned the game for Alaska as part of a deciding 8-0 run that also included a JVee Casio play just moments after.

Chris Banchero added 19 markers as the Aces outscored the Gin Kings 15-6 in what was the night’s second extra session following Star’s OT win over Globalport.

“Great heart, great crowd,” said head coach Alex Compton. “I thought today’s games for the league were great. Punong-puno ang Araneta (Araneta was full).”

“I thought Ginebra showed great resolve and poise and we were really kind of in control early but they just kept coming,” he added.

Ginebra took the lead with over a minute remaining in regulation but two calm and composed free throws from the reliable RJ Jazul tied the count at 94 to force overtime. Jazul finished with 14 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists.

Calvin Abueva, who slammed the door on Ginebra with his own 3-pointer to make it a 9-point affair with 42 seconds left, added 12 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, and a block off the bench.

The Gin Kings paraded new import Justin Brownlee and he came through with 31 points and 13 rebounds playing just under 30 minutes. Brownlee battled cramps late in the game and was seen limping to the locker room after the final buzzer.

Sol Mercado was Ginebra’s go-to guy down the stretch as he tallied 22 points, while LA Tenorio contributed 13 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, and two steals.

Alaska rose to 1-1 while Ginebra dropped to 1-1 as well in the standings.

Scores:

Alaska (109): Henton 29, Banchero 19, Jazul 14, Abueva 12, Casio 7, Manuel 6, Thoss 6, Hontiveros 5, Menk 5, Racal 3, Baclao 2, Exciminiano 1, Magat 0.

Ginebra (100): Brownlee 31, Mercado 22, Tenorio 13, Aguilar 9, Ellis 8, Caguioa 4, Cruz 4, Mariano 4, Thompson 3, Devance 1, Marcelo 1, Bonifacio 0, Helterbrand 0.

Quarter scores: 33-25, 53-46, 76-70, 94-94, 109-100.

– Rappler.com