Alaska’s grand comeback falls short as Meralco goes up 5-1

MANILA, Philippines – The Meralco Bolts breathed a deep sigh of relief as the final buzzer sounded and they had successfully weathered a vigorous Alaska Aces storm for the 99-91 win in the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup on Saturday, April 8 at the Mall of Asia Arena.

The Bolts came in the brink of a monumental collapse when they blew a 25-point lead from the halfway mark of the fourth quarter. The energized Aces, with their vaunted fullcourt press on display, made a game of it when they sliced the deficit to as little as 9 points with still 1:19 to go.

The previously undefeated Alaska, motivated by coach Alex Compton all throughout the game, edged out Meralco in the fourth, 31-23, in their highest scoring quarter of the match.

But the Aces, long known as a dangerous team with the ability to come back from huge deficits, ran out of time as Meralco made just enough shots to quell the uprising.

“Alaska is a tough team to beat, they must be the most well-conditioned team in the league because they can press you for 48 minutes which is very difficult to do,” said head coach Norman Black.

“We handled the pressure for about 44, maybe 45 minutes. In the last 3 minutes we got a little bit sloppy and to be quite honest with you, we looked like we got a little bit tired. I’m just happy with the win, I’ll take it and we’ll move on to the next game against Blackwater.”

Guard Baser Amer led the Bolts with 19 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and two steals playing 41 minutes.

Import Alex Stephenson dropped 17 points and tracked down 26 rebounds, while Jared Dillinger contributed 15 markers.

Former Ateneo Blue Eagles Chris Newsome and Justin Chua conspired for 28 points, with Newsome adding 7 rebounds.

Alaska had import Cory Jefferson leading the way with 32 points and 13 rebounds as Simon Enciso chipped in 14 points.

Calvin Abueva had a rare off-night, coming up with only 11 points and fouling out with a minute to play.

Alaska, which trailed for most of the night, absorbed only its first loss of the tournament for a 4-1 record.

Meralco, on the other hand, improved to 5-1.

Scores: 

Meralco (99): Amer 19, Stepheson 17, Dillinger 15, Newsome 14, Chua 14, Hugnatan 8, Nabong 8, Yeo 4, Daquioag 0, Uyloan 0, Caram 0. 

Alaska (91): Jefferson 32, Enciso 14, Abueva 11, Galliguez 9, Dela Cruz 8, Exciminiano 6, Casio 5, Thoss 4, Pascual 2, Racal 0, Andrada 0.

Quarter scores: 27-19, 50-35, 76-60, 99-91.

– Rappler.com