Alabi’s late basket leads Barako past Alaska in OT

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Solomon Alabi hit a put-back basket with a few seconds left in overtime to lead the Barako Bull Energy past the Alaska Aces, 93-91, on Tuesday, February 24, at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.

Alabi finished with 23 points and 19 rebounds, while Dave Marcelo put up 18 markers and 8 boards to lead Barako Bull to their fourth win in six games in the 2015 Commissioner’s Cup.

The win snapped a two-game losing skid for head coach Koy Banal’s team.

“The guys showed yung sense of urgency namin (our sense of urgency),” he said in the post-game presser.”

“We thought about it, after losing back to back games, I just reminded them about our experience last conference (2015 Philippine Cup): we lost five consecutive games before we were able to arrest that.”

“This time, I reminded the boys we needed to arrest the back-to-back losses… I told them about the sense of urgency. If we want to arrest that, we need to have that type of mentality.”

Barako personified their coach’s hopes on the court in the early goings as they established an 8-point lead in the first quarter. But as always, Alaska fought back and trailed only by two, 45-43, by the time the game reached the halfway mark.

The Energy built another 8-point lead late in the fourth period following a dunk by JC Intal, 83-75. But the Aces rallied by going on a 10-2 run to force overtime.

Both teams exchanged baskets for most of the OT period, providing a thrilling finish that was kickstarted by a basket by Marcelo that put Barako ahead 91-89 with 1:10 to go.

After free throws by Alaska’s import Damion James tied the game, both clubs went a few possessions without hitting a basket.

The cold spell was eventually broken by Alabi, who missed on two shots in the paint before grabbing another offensive board and converted a put-back that put his team up by two with a little 2.5 seconds to go.

Before Alaska could attempt a shot following their time-out, a second delay of game warning was assessed to Barako point guard RR Garcia during the inbound play, leading to a technical free throw.

“RR was called for a delay of game – he thought na meron pa kami (we still had one). It was his decision and I honored that. It only means that he’s thinking; he also has the will to win,” Banal said, not blaming his player for the error.

Unfortunately for the Aces, James missed on the charity. Not long after, Dondon Hontiveros misfired on an off-balanced triple that could have won the game at the buzzer.

Alaska, now 2-4, received 39 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists from James, who also missed a step-back jumper at the end of regulation that could have served as the game-winner.

“Give the ball to DJ and get out of his way,” Aces head coach Alex Compton said about how he called the play.

Vic Manuel put up 13 points and 4 steals, while RJ Jazul contributed 8 markers.

Calvin Abueva, who’s still recuperating from an ankle injury, played only 5:12 minutes and scored 0 points on one shot attempt.

“If you will compare the composition of our team against the other teams, medyo malayo kami (we are at a disadvantage),” Banal said.

“But because of the grace of God and the will of the players to come together and to play as a team on both ends, we were able to win four games so far in our first six games.”

Though they have five contests left, the win on Tuesday puts Barako in a good position to claim one of the eight available playoff seeds.

“I just hope and pray that we’ll be able to make it to the playoffs,” said Banal.

Intal finished with 12 points for the Energy, while Solomon Mercado put up 15 points and 4 assists. Carlo Lastimosa also recorded 12 markers and came off the bench.

Scores:

Barako Bull (93) – Alabi 23, Marcelo 18, Mercado 15, Lastimosa 12, Intal 12, Pascual 6, Garcia 4, Lanete 3, Chua 0, Hubalde 0

Alaska (91) – James 39, Manuel 13, Exciminiano 8, Jazul 8, Baguio 6, Menk 6, Hontiveros 3, Dela Rosa 2, Espinas 2, Dela Cruz 2, Casio 2, Banchero 0, Abueva 0

Quarter Scoring: 22-21, 45-43, 66-65, 85-85, 93-91

– Rappler.com