Alaska comes from behind to take 3-0 PBA Finals lead over San Miguel

Jane Bracher

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Alaska comes from behind to take 3-0 PBA Finals lead over San Miguel
The Alaska Aces have secured an overwhelming series lead, moving to within one win of the 2016 Philippine Cup title

LUCENA CITY, Philippines (UPDATED) — The Alaska Aces eked out a very crucial come-from-behind victory once again over the San Miguel Beermen, 82-75, in Game 3 of the 2016 PBA Philippine Cup Finals at the Quezon Convention Center here.

The Aces, who nipped their foes as well in the first two games, continue to pounce on the struggling defending champions sans reigning back-to-back MVP June Mar Fajardo to build a daunting 3-0 lead in the best-of-7 series. 

Alaska is now a win away from its 15th franchise title and its first all-Filipino championship since 2000. 

“They’ve given us a 3-0,” head coach Alex Compton commended his players before letting out a tired, anxious sigh with Game 4 and a chance to sweep the series visible in the distance this Sunday, January 24 at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig.  

“Man, I hope we finish this at Ultra.” 

Vic Manuel, the Aces’ leading scorer this conference, came through once more with 17 points and 7 rebounds, including 11 markers in another takeover fourth quarter for him.

 

Calvin Abueva finished with 13 points while Sonny Thoss had 12 markers, 7 boards, two blocks and a steal.

 

Cyrus Baguio chipped in 11 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists, as Chris Banchero added 7 points before he was ejected with 1:51 remaining in the third frame after incurring his second technical foul.

San Miguel looked like they could finally steal one from Alaska after taking a 41-31 halftime advantage owing to a lengthened rotation and valuable bench contributions from JayR Reyes, Brian Heruela, and Ryan Araña. 

But a wake-up call from Compton at halftime, along with tireless encouragements despite 24-second shot clock violations and defensive lapses, pushed Alaska to up the energy. 

“I was not happy at halftime. I felt we got outworked, which doesn’t sit well with any single coach I’ve met,” said Compton. “But you saw how they just kept going. We finally got it right in the second half. We kept going after making a mistake. We stopped hanging our heads and we kept playing.”

Manuel was a beast in the payoff period anew, scoring key baskets to put his team on top 72-68 with 5:05 left in the game.

Arwind Santos answered right back with a 4-point play on Manuel’s 5th foul to tie the count again at 72, forcing the Alaska forward to the bench. 

RJ Jazul, who finished with 6 points, stepped up with 4 straight clutch points to shove Alaska ahead for good, 78-75, with 45 seconds left. Thoss and JVee Casio sealed the deal on a pair of free throws.

Veteran big man Reyes, whom coach Leo Austria plucked from the bench for this game, led San Miguel with 13 points and 6 rebounds despite getting thrown out with 9:32 left to play. He was called for a flagrant foul penalty 2 after his elbow hit Manuel’s jaw during a rebound play.

Ronald Tubid was the only other player in double figures with 10 points as the Beermen, though finally having sufficient bench contribution, failed to milk more offense off of their starters. 

Alex Cabagnot had 9 points and 5 assists while Santos proved inefficient as he made only 3 of his 17 field goal attempts including two of his 11 triples for 9 points. He had 9 rebounds and 6 turnovers. 

Araña chipped in 9 points while Gabby Espinas had 8 markers and 7 boards. Marcio Lassiter finished with 8 points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field.

No team has ever come back from a 0-3 series deficit in PBA history and San Miguel has yet to beat Alaska this conference, a team they’ve beaten in two championships series last season. 

“San Miguel is a bunch of winners,” Compton asserted sweeping the Beermen won’t be easy. “They will not hand us anything.” — Rappler.com

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