Kings topple Aces in 2nd half shootout

MANILA, Philippines - Barangay Ginebra charged back from an early 18-point deficit and beat Alaska Milk in a shootout down the stretch, hacking out a 93-90 win in their KFC PBA Philippine Cup road showdown at the Batangas City Sports Center last night.

Wingmen Cyrus Baguio, JC Intal and Ronald Tubid fuelled the Kings’ mighty charge in the second half leading to the crucial victory that kept the team in the hunt for an outright semifinal entry.

The Kings moved up to solo third place behind the San Miguel Beermen (13-3) and the Aces (11-3) on a third straight win and their 11th in 17 games overall.

Ginebra, slugging it out with Alaska, Talk n Text, Sta. Lucia and Purefoods for the last four slots in the Magic Five, closes out its elimination-round stint versus Burger King on Jan. 17.

Returning from a three-week rest, the Aces buckled down to work early but failed to sustain their effort, thus, missing another shot at an outright playoff crack at a semis seat.

Alaska has Sta. Lucia, Purefoods and Burger King as its last three assignments in the elims with two victories guaranteeing the Aces of an automatic semis passage.

The Kings started flat but waxed hot in the second half, getting tremendous boost on the exploits of Baguio, Intal and Tubid.

The three deadly slashers put in at least 17 points each for the Kings who overcame a 24-42 deficit in notching a sixth straight win on the road dating back to last season’s Fiesta Conference.

Willy Wilson added 11 points on top of numerous hustle plays helping Ginebra get past Alaska in the penultimate stop of the PBA Phoenix Fuel on Tour.

The Kings scored heavily on fastbreak plays to negate Willie Miller’s 29-point explosion.

Ginebra piled up 11 fastbreak points to none for Alaska in the third quarter as the Kings raced ahead, 62-61.

Keeping the pace in the fourth, the Kings erected a 15-point spread at 85-70 before facing the Aces’ own chase at the finish.

The Aces jumped the gun on the Kings, building an 18-point margin at 42-24 before settling for a 44-34 lead at halftime.

Miller ran the show in the first quarter then the Alaska reserves took over in the second period as they dominated the Kings in the first 24 minutes of play.

Miller nearly outscored the entire Ginebra team in the opening period, making 15 points on a fierce 7-of-8 field-goal shooting.