The Alaska Aces punched the first ticket to the semifinals of the 2018 PBA Commissioner's Cup as they defeated the Magnolia Hotshots Pambansang Manok, 89-78, Tuesday night at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
The Hotshots were shooting so well in their final two games of the elimination round as they took down NLEX Road Warriors and the San Miguel Beermen. However, the Alaska defense was prepared to take these open shots away. Magnolia shot miserably from downtown, going 5-of-21 from deep with only Wayne Chism and Aldrech Ramos converting.
After being stuck in a tight ballgame against the Hotshots in the first half, Alaska looked like a different team in the third quarter as they rallied to take command of the game. The Aces won the third period 32-19 as they led 78-62 heading into the payoff period.
The Hotshots tried their best to get back into the contest as their guards gamely fought back.
Mark Barroca and Jio Jalalon conspired to trim their deficit down to four points, 82-78, with still 3:20 remaining in the game. However, Alaska responded with big baskets. Vic Manuel and Chris Banchero combined for a 7-0 run to close out the ball game and eliminate the Hotshots.
Manuel was once against the Best Player of the Game with this 11th straight game where he scored more than 20 points. The Muscleman finished with 22 points on 10-of-20 shooting from the field while playing less than 25 minutes.
"I'm just always ready to contribute every time coach calls my number," a humble Manuel said. "We needed to end this now because it will be much tougher to beat Magnolia in a do-or-die game. Good thing we played well as a team to score the win."
Alaska will now wait for the winner of the series between the San Miguel Beermen and the TNT KaTropa.
Diamon Simpson had a double-double for the Aces with 13 points and 15 rebounds. He was outstanding on defense with four steals and two blocks, making thingss difficult for Magnolia's offense to flow. Three other Aces scored in double digits with Chris Banchero adding 14, Sonny Thoss scoring 11, and Kevin Racal finishing with 10.
Magnolia only had two players in double digits with Chism dropping 22 points and Ian Sangalang adding 14 off the bench.
"I'm just so proud of those guys," said Alaska head coach Alex Compton after the game. "We were at 7-1 and we were doing so well when we were hit with adversity after adversity after adversity but it was nothing but fight and desire from those guys. There was no finger-pointing, no blaming. I don't know what's going to happen in the semifinals but I'm so proud of my players and I love them."
Asked which team he would prefer to meet in the semifinals, Compton answered coyly.
"The Miriam Elementary team. If not, then their Juniors team," the coach joked. "Honestly, I do not want to face either of those teams to be honest because they present so many problems but we have to."
Alaska holds elimination round wins against the Beermen and KaTropa but Compton said it was a different ballgame in the playoffs.
"Those elimination round games were important but that does not carry over to the playoffs," Compton closed. "But we'll do the best we can."
THE SCORES
Alaska 89 - Manuel 22, Banchero 14, Simpson 13, Thoss 11, Racal 10, Exciminiano 7, Enciso 4, Cruz 3, Casio 2, Teng 2, Baclao 1.
Magnolia 78 - Chism 20, Sangalang 14, Barroca 9, Lee 8, Jalalon 8, Ramos 6, Simon 6, Dela Rosa 5, Brondial 2, Reavis 0, Melton 0, Herndon 0.
Quarters: 26-21, 46-43, 78-62, 89-78.
EXTRA DRIBBLES
Magnolia made an average of 17 triples per game in their last two games of the elimination round and was the third best team in the elimination round in three-point shooting percentage but Alaska did a great job of closing out on the shooters.
The Hotshots only made 23% of their baskets from long range.