Richard Dy 5y

Alaska recovers in time to hold off Meralco in Game 2

The Alaska Aces made all six free throws in crunch time to put the Meralco Bolts away 100-95 Tuesday at the Mall of Asia Arena to tie the Governors' Cup semifinal series at one game apiece.

The Aces led by as many as 20 points in the third quarter behind Simon Enciso and import Mike Harris' hot shooting. But the Bolts slowly chipped in the Aces' lead in the final quarter.

Meralco import Allen Durham led his team's blazing fourth-quarter comeback with big baskets inside, while Chris Newsome woke up from scoring slumber, knocking down a corner 3-pointer to cut Alaska's lead to 96-95 with 14.5 seconds remaining.

Casio, who earlier hit a pair of free throws, added two more, while Amer missed a 3-point attempt seconds later. Enciso grabbed the rebound and went on to seal the match with two more free throws.

Harris had another monster effort with 37 points and 19 boards, while Enciso chipped in 23, lacing his excellent shooting night with five triples.

Chris Banchero played through a sprained ankle, finishing with a near triple-double of 13 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for Alaska.

The loss put an end to Meralco's franchise-best seven-game winning streak -- six of them elimination games, including back-to-back wins over Phoenix in their quarterfinal duel.

The Bolts were again without injured big men Cliff Hodge and Ranidel de Ocampo.

Durham carried the scoring load for Meralco with 24 points and 12 boards, while Nico Salva came off the bench to add 20 on an excellent 8-of-11 shooting. Amer chipped in 14 while Hugnatan added 12 and seven rebounds before fouling out.

THE SCORES

Alaska 100 - Harris 37, Enciso 23, Banchero 13, Manuel 7, Baclao 6, Racal 5, Casio 4, Exciminiano 3, Teng 2, Thoss 0.

Meralco 95 - Durham 24, Salva 20, Amer 14, Hugnatan 12, Tolomia 10, Newsome 6, Caram 4, Canaleta 3, Faundo 2, Dillinger 0, Ballesteros 0.

Quarters: 23-21, 47-40, 74-60, 100-95.

EXTRA DRIBBLES

-- Alaska showed its aggressiveness in Game 2 after dominating the rebounding department, 48-35, along with a 16-8 advantage in second-chance points.

-- The Aces were also quick to pounce on the Bolts' 15 turnovers, turning it into 22 points.

-- Jared Dillinger, who missed the elimination round due to a right knee injury, went scoreless in over 11 minutes of action.

NEXT GAME

Game 3 on November 15 at the Cuneta Astrodome.

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