Aces send Kings to the brink; Beermen win

MANILA, Philippines - Alaska Milk moved within a win of a return stint to the KFC PBA Philippine Cup finals as it overcame an endgame meltdown, escaping with a 91-88 win over Barangay Ginebra before a crowd of over 18,000 at the Araneta Coliseum last night.

The Aces nearly squandered a 23-point lead, barely pulling through as Reynel Hugnatan came through with one big defensive rebound and a charity then Ginebra’s Mark Caguioa missed a potential game-tying triple in the closing seconds.

“We had everything going our way for most of the game until we got very comfortable and stopped playing. We should’ve known better that Ginebra never quits,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone.

The victory gave the Aces a commanding 3-0 lead in their best-of-seven semifinal series.

“We lost our poise and confidence. Luckily, we made some good defensive stops in the end, allowing us to eke out the win,” Cone said.

The Aces led by as many as 23 at 88-65 on a short stab by Mark Borboran with 8:06 left but they went without a field goal the rest of the way.

The Kings then waged a big comeback on a pressing defense but failed to complete the rally with heartbreaking misses in the clutch.

They had two chances to tie but Ronald Tubid bungled two free throws, then Caguioa misfired a three-pointer inside the last 10 seconds.

Finding themselves in a 0-3 hole, the Kings need to beat the Aces four in a row to salvage the series. But no team has ever come back from that deficit in league history.

Cone, however, isn’t counting Ginebra out.

“I’ve been in the business for 20 years and I’ve seen things happen. We’d been up 3-1 against Purefoods in the 2006 all-Filipino semis and we ended up losing,” said Cone.

San Miguel Beer restored order in its game after a floundering performance Friday, smothering Purefoods, 88-76, for a 2-1 lead in their own best-of-seven semis series.

“The main thing is the effort we put in. We’re a little more committed on defense in this game,” said San Miguel coach Siot Tanquingcen.

“In Game Four, we intend to stay in business. We’ve learned our lesson (in Game Two). We must not commit the mistake again,” Tanquingcen added.

“One glaring stats for today’s game is our inability to score. That’s basically the story,” said Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio.

NOTES: Samigue Eman, the 2007 draft No. 2 pick who became an unrestricted free agent at San Miguel Beer, was acquired by Alaska Milk Friday. San Miguel put the 6-foot-11 center on the reserve list after reactivating Danny Seigle and Danny Ildefonso from injury in time for the semis. Before Eman was acquired by Alaska, San Miguel was working on a deal that would have sent the Davaoeño to Barangay Ginebra. Eman, however, is still restricted from playing for his new team. He makes his debut as an Alaska player next conference.