Aces score ego-boosting win, lead Painters, 1-0

Game today (Smart Araneta Coliseum)

5 p.m. – Talk n Text vs San Mig Coffee

MANILA, Philippines - Alaska Milk, badly ripped apart by Rain or Shine in their previous meeting, bounced back hard enough to turn the tables on the Elasto Painters, 97-93, in the opener of their PLDT Home Telpad PBA Governors Cup best-of-five semifinal showdown at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

The Aces hung on in the face of the Elasto Painters’ torrid outside shooting before making a decisive move in the homestretch, shutting down Rain or Shine in the last four minutes to take the head start in the race-to-three-games series.

“I’m young in coaching but long enough in basketball to know 1-0 is not that big a lead. I hope we can build on this,” said Alaska coach Alex Compton.

“What’s important with this win is that at least we know now that we can beat this time. It’s good for our confidence,” Compton added.

Henry Walker delivered 14 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter, and the Aces pounced on the Elasto Painters’ four crucial errors in the stretch as Alaska rebounded from its 72-123 blowout by Rain or Shine in their elims faceoff.

The Elasto Painters were ahead 93-88 before running into a maze of errors and misses and thus seeing the end of their six-game run in the tourney.

Walker and his teammates pummeled the E-Painters, 9-0, in the last four minutes, and Alaska stretched its own run to five games.

“Henry obviously was great in the stretch. He’s aggressive and used his size to great advantage,” said Compton of his import who capitalized on the ouster of defender Gabe Norwood on a sprained ankle.

The game was still in the balance when Walker stole Paul Lee’s inbound to Jeff Chan and made two free throws to make it 97-93 with three ticks left.

Earlier, Walker attacked and scored off Jireh Ibanes as the Aces surged ahead at 95-93.

Sonny Thoss asserted himself against Rain or Shine’s second-string frontcourt players in the second quarter, anchoring a 16-to-nothing run that shoved Alaska ahead, 40-33.

The E-Painters made a counterattack before Jayvee Casio canned two charities, giving the Aces a 46-45 edge at the half.

Thoss had a rare four-point play to highlight his 10-point production in the second period.

Thoss and Walker combined for 25 points in the first half with Alaska using power underneath to counter the E-Painters’ running game.

The E-Painters came through with key runs at the start of the game and late in the second period largely behind transition plays. RoS pounced on Alaska, 13-0, on fastbreaks in the first 24 minutes. of the match.

Rain or Shine started with an 11-2 blitz, and Alaska played catch-up basketball until its 16-0 salvo in the second frame.

A three-point play by Walker off Jervy Cruz tied the count at 33-all then a four-pointer by Thoss off Larry Rodriguez had Alaska spurting ahead at 37-33. Thoss scored on a semi-hook off Larry Rodriguez, then after missing the accompanying free throw, the 6-foot-7 Fil-foreign center grabbed the loose ball and made a twinner.

The scores:

Alaska 97 – Walker 31, Thoss 16, Manuel 14, Casio 7, Jazul 7, Abueva 7, Espinas 5, Hontiveros 5, Baguio 5, Dela Cruz 0.

Rain or Shine 93 – Reid 27, Lee 19, Chan 14, Tiu 8, Norwood 6, Araña 5, Belga 4, Almazan 3, Ibañes 3, Cruz 2, Nuyles 2, Rodriguez 0.

Quarterscores: 19-24, 46-45, 73-74, 97-93