Alaska lives in OT, forces Game 3

Alaska Milk gained the better end of a scrambling game versus Coca-Cola last night, pulling off a 78-76 decision in overtime to force a deciding Game Three in their Samsung PBA Invitational Cup title showdown at the Astrodome.

The Aces committed several turnovers — 30 to be exact — but watched the Tigers fire blanks and commit their own errors down the stretch to score the win that kept them in the hunt for their first title since the 2000 All-Filipino Cup.

The Aces and the Tigers clash in a winner-take-all match at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Philsports Arena.

"We didn’t want to let go easy. We came out tight. In our previous big games, we would have collapsed and probably lost by 20 points. But this team has gone through a lot," said Alaska coach Tim Cone.

"They battled and we battled, and we just pulled through in the end," Cone added.

True enough, the Tigers waged a big battle till the end, only yielding the game as Rob Wainwright missed a make-or-break three-point attempt at the buzzer.

The Tigers had a chance to force a second overtime earlier but Jeffrey Cariaso fumbled a fastbreak play before being fouled by Mike Cortez with time down to .9 second.

"We missed our charities and couldn’t make open shots. How can you win the game?," said Coca-Cola coach Chot Reyes.

But the Tigers really struggled hard, shooting 31.5 percent from the field and 53.8 percent from the stripe.

Alaska had a chance to finish off Coca-Cola in regulation play but Ali Peek and John Arigo missed one field-goal attempt each in the last 13.6 seconds.

Don Allado returned from sickbay and put in a big help with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

What the Tigers got in the first half of action in Game One they matched right in the first quarter last night as they erected an early 12-point lead, 21-9.

But the Aces, particularly EJ Feihl, Brandon Cablay, Don Allado, John Arigo and Stephen Padilla, got their act together in the second period and trimmed their deficit to one.

Feihl had six points, including a slam, capping a decisive run that had the Aces pegging the count at 31-32 at the turn.

The Aces shot 58.8 percent from the field in the second quarter while the Tigers hit at a 15.8-percent clip.