Aces dig out of 21-point hole, stun Boosters

MANILA, Philippines — Alaska Milk made an incredible comeback from a 21-point deficit, holding Petron Blaze down to six points in the fourth quarter as the Aces shocked the Boosters, 79-71, to assure themselves of Top Six spot in the PBA Philippine Cup elimination round at the Smart Araneta Coliseum tonight.

Cyrus Baguio, Calvin Abueva, Jayvee Casio, Sonny Thoss and Dondon Hontiveros teamed up to give the Aces a fiery finish resulting to the epic come-from-behind victory guaranteeing the team of at least fifth place at the close of the elims play.

Inside the Top Six, the Aces (8-6) figure in a best-of-three series in the quarterfinals.

The Boosters blew away their biggest spread of 63-42 in the third quarter and a 65-46 bubble at the start of the fourth period as they settled for a seventh place finish at 6-8.

Petron is likely to play sister team San Mig Coffee in the quarters with the Mixers enjoying a twice-to-beat advantage.

“I thought we’re just going through the motion but the guys didn’t want to give up,” said Alaska coach Luigi Trillo, crediting the victory to the never-say-die spirit shown by his players.

“We got injuries all around. Calvin has got a second-degree sprain. Jayvee had a fever going back from our Dipolog game (Saturday). But they just willed the game,” Trillo also said.