ALASKA's last dance in the PBA Governors' Cup is in for at least another spin.
Mark St. Fort debuted with 17 points and 14 rebounds and Jeron Teng added 16 markers, but it was their relievers who did most of the damage as the Aces beat NLEX, 93-79, Wednesday to force a deciding game in their quarterfinals duel at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Mike Tolomia and Yousef Taha were foremost among those who delivered off the bench and enabled Alaska to overcome an early 16-point deficit, gain momentum as the game wore on and from there negate NLEX's twice-to-beat advantage.
The do-or-die rubber match is slated Saturday with the sixth-seeded Aces gunning for another win to book a semifinal seat in their ultimate bid to win a 15th title in their final conference in the pro league.
Winning coach Jeffrey Cariaso credited his team's all-around effort, particularly on the defensive side, in upending second-ranked NLEX.
Sponsored content: "I think our mental approach on how we were trying to play early was focused only on the offense. So sabi namin we have to get back to our defense, understanding our defensive schemes and being more physical," related Cariaso in explaining why his team fell into a 16-32 hole in the first quarter.
"So, I think when we became more physical defensively, we were moving our feet better, we weren't giving up easy fouls, that allowed the offense to settle in, for it to be a little bit easier."
Indeed, Alaska turned the tables around on NLEX right in the second period, holding the Road Warriors to a 5-for-24 field goal shooting following the latter's torrid 11-for-20 start to the game. In contrast, the Aces made 10-for-22 shots in the second period after netting just three of 30 tries in the opener.
All those combined to power Alaska's 20-2 run that put it ahead, 40-38, at halftime.
Tolomia then led the Aces' sustained charge in the third period where he scored all 10 of his points and stretch the difference to as much as 64-52, before back-to-back 3s by Mike Digregorio and St. Fort pegged the game's biggest difference at 84-67, only 4:05 to go.
Sponsored content: Abu Tratter chipped in his own double-double of 12 points and 10 rebounds while Taha only had nine points but hauled down 12 rebounds.
"We didn't want it to be our last game. That in itself is a challenge and a motivation all on its own. So we tried to use that to motivate us even more, for us to be focus even more, for us to be ready even more, play together even more," said Cariaso.
Cameron Clark finished with game-highs of 25 points and 16 rebounds in his own debut game for NLEX, but only Kevin Alas and Don Trollano were able to consistently back him up with 17 and 12 points, respectively. (NC)
The Scores:
Alaska 93 - Saint Fort 17, Teng 16, Tratter 12, Tolomia 10, DiGregorio 9, Taha 9, Ahanmisi 6, Bulanadi 5, Ilagan 3, Racal 3, Faundo 3, Stockton 0, Adamos 0.
NLEX 79 - Clark 25, Alas 17, Trollano 12, Rosales 7, Paniamogan 5, Quinahan 4, Nieto 3, Chua 2, Ighalo 2, Soyud 2, Miranda 0, Varilla 0.
Quarters: 12-26, 40-38, 64-55, 93-79
