MANILA, Philippines – Willie Miller scored on a gutsy drive with 4.7 seconds left to play and Alaska Milk defused Barangay Ginebra’s fiery chase from a huge deficit, pulling off a 76-75 squeaker to force a double playoff for the final placings in the Motolite PBA Fiesta Conference classification round at the Araneta Coliseum last night.
Ginebra and Rain or Shine fight for the second outright semifinals berth while Alaska and Coca-Cola slug it out for the last slot in the wildcard round knockout pairings in tomorrow’s playoffs at the Ynares Sports Center in Antipolo.
The Aces squandered a 34-55 margin but Miller knocked in a crucial shot, saving Alaska from what could have been a bitter defeat.
After Miller made it 76-75 on his big basket, Rosell Ellis put up a defensive stop on David Noel, preserving the win that had Alaska tying Coca-Cola at eighth place with identical 6-8 win-loss cards at the end of the classification round.
The Kings settled for joint second with the Elasto Painters and the Burger King Whoppers at 8-6 after suffering their first defeat in their last eight games.
With superior quotients, Ginebra and Rain or Shine will figure in a playoff for second place. Burger King automatically settled for No. 4 spot.
Jayjay Helterbrand, Cyrus Baguio and Chico Lanete fueled the run sending Ginebra back in the thick of things after falling behind by as many as 21 points.
The Kings were still down by 20, 48-68, before unleashing a massive assault to move ahead at 73-72 with 3:51 left to play in the contest.
Coca-Cola came back from a big blowout by Barangay Ginebra the last time out, clobbering San Miguel Beer, 105-89, in the first game.
Ronjay Buenafe fired a career-high eight triples and a total of 30 points while Asi Taulava added 29 points and 14 rebounds and James Penny came up with 24 points and 10 rebounds as the Tigers got back at the Beermen and closed out their stint in the classification round with six wins against eight losses.
“We’re happy with the win that kept the door open for an automatic No. 8 finish for us,” said Coca-Cola coach Kenneth Duremdes.
The Tigers came out bristling in the match after a 37-point massacre by the Kings Wednesday, avenging a 91-106 loss to the Beermen in their previous tiff.
The Beermen suffered their first loss in their last three games and ended up with an 11-3 card in the classification round.
Despite three losses in their last six games, the Beermen finished way ahead of everybody in the pre-playoffs plays. With an automatic seat in the semifinals, San Miguel takes at least a three-week rest before plunging back into action in the season-ending tourney. – Nelson Beltran