Alaska escapes Globalport for league-best record

MANILA, Philippines – Alaska Milk made a big turnaround from a 15-point deficit then weathered Globalport’s own fightback, pulling off a 93-92 nail-biter to cap its topnotch performance in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup elimination round at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight.

Sam Eman deflected Reed Juntilla’s in-bounds in the last .6 second as the Aces preserved the win and closed out their elims stint with a tournament-best 11-3 win-loss card.

Assured of playoffs top seeding even before the game, the Aces still came out with a gritty resolve, surviving a 57-72 deficit in the third quarter in an effort that could well boost their morale a lot more for the post-elim plays.

“We had stretches where we were solid and stretches when were turning the ball over. But a win is a win and I take it especially entering the playoffs,” said Alaska coach Luigi Trillo.

“We take two days off. Then we focus on offense first. We can bring in new plays depending on the next couples of days where we’ll know who we’re going to play (in the quarterfinals),” Trillo also said. “We take the long break. It’s welcome for us. It gives us time to heal our injuries.”

The Aces repeated their 93-85 win over the Batang Pier in their previous tiff even with Trillo opting to rest injured key players Cyrus Baguio and Sonny Thoss.

Top rookie Calvin Abueva churned out double-double numbers with 17 points and 14 rebounds, Rob Dozier topscored with 18 and RJ Jazul, Jayvee Casio and Dondon Hontiveros added double-digit outputs as Alaska dealt Globalport an 11th loss against only two wins.

The hard-luck Batang Pier play their last game in their second tournament in the local pro league versus the Barako Bull Energy Cola Sunday.

Just when everybody thought the Batang Pier were to end their skid, the Aces worked on a key run, erasing a 15-point deficit and building a 12-point lead at 89-77 with 3:21 left to play.

Gary David fueled their own comeback as he scored nine straight points at the finish.

 The Batang Pier failed to complete a come-from-behind win, though, on Juntilla's errant throw-in at the end.