SUMMARY
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MANILA, Philippines – The league-leading Alaska Aces had to scramble in the endgame to scrape by a hot-shooting NLEX Road Warriors squad, 90-84, in the 2014 PBA Philippine Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The win gave Alaska its eighth win in nine games and kept the Aces at the top of the standings. This strengthens their chances of advancing straight to the semifinals instead of slogging through two more knockout rounds.
Dondon Hontiveros was the hot hand for Alaska, hitting 5 threes on his way to 21 points in just 22 minutes of play off the bench.
Alaska led by double-digits early in this game, but the Road Warriors came back strong late in the first half to make a game of it. NLEX continued to play tough in the second half and appeared firmly in control after Mark Borboran’s jump shot gave the Road Warriors an 81-74 edge with 3 minutes to go. The Aces, however, had other plans and leaned on their veterans to frustrate NLEX, which absorbed its fifth loss in its last six games.
With a 3-6 slate, NLEX is mired in the bottom half of the standings and though it looks like the Road Warriors will advance to the next round, they will probably stare at a twice-to-beat disadvantage against whomever they will face.
Calvin Abueva, the 2013 Rookie of the Year, also shone in this contest, registering 16 points, 19 rebounds, 4 assists, and one steal. Abueva has been filling the sheets with consistency this season, and is one of the favorites to cop the Best Player of the Conference, especially if Alaska goes deep into the next phase. Cyrus Baguio, Sonny Thoss, and JV Casio all did well, too, with 11 markers apiece.
On the other end, Mark Borboran scored a career-high 22 points to pace NLEX, hitting 5 threes on top of 5 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 steal. He was backstopped by the combined 27 markers of Mac Cardona and Jonas Villanueva. Top big man Asi Taulava struggled a bit in this game, dropping a pedestrian line of 10 points and 5 rebounds.
Scores
Alaska 90 – Hontiveros 21, Abueva 16, Baguio 11, Casio 11, Thoss 11, Manuel 8, Jazul 7, Banchero 3, Exciminiano 2, dela Cruz 0, Eman 0, dela Rosa 0, Menk 0
NLEX 84 – Borboran 22, Cardona 14, Villanueva J 13, Taulava 10, Villanueva E 9, Arboleda 6, Ramos 4, Canaleta 2, Camson 2, Arboleda 2, Raymundo 0, Apinan 0
Quarter Scores: 23-15, 40-42, 55-58, 90-84
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