MANILA – Alaska Aces pulled off a late rally to escape with an 89-88 victory over Rain or Shine Elasto Painters in the 2020 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup at the AUF Sports Arena and Cultural Center in Pampanga last night.
Down 71-78 with over five minutes left, Alaska went on a 14-2 scoring blast behind Jeron Teng and Vic Manuel to surge ahead 85-80 on a three-point basket by Robbie Herndon.
The Painters cut the deficit to 83-85 on a three-pointer by Jayvee Mocon, but a basket and a free throw by Manuel extended the lead anew to 88-83 before Rain or Shine drained another triple from Rey Nambatac to come to within 86-88.
Manuel’s split free throws in the next possession game the Aces an 89-86 edge before the Painters trimmed it to 88-89 on a layup by Beau Belga. After a turnover by Alaska’s Jvee Casio, Nambatac misfired his potential game-winning layup for RoS.
Manuel finished the match with 18 points, Teng added 13 markers while rookie Barkley Ebona and Abu Tratter contributed 10 points each as the Aces notched their third straight win and improve to a 3-2 win-lost card.
Sidney Onwubere ended the game with 16 points while Mocon and rookie Adrian Wong added 14 and 12 markers respectively as the Painters suffered their first defeat after three victories.
In the first PBA game, the TNT Tropang Giga surged to solo first place in the standings following a 109-96 domination over Blackwater Elite. The Tropang Giga now has a 5-0 slate while the Elite moved down to 2-3.
From a slim lead in the opening period, the Tropang Giga created separation from the Elite in the second frame behind Roger Pogoy, Simon Enciso and Bobby Ray Parks Jr. for a 61-49 halftime lead.
Blackwater tried to keep the match close at 62-73 in the third period, but TNT went on a strong rally behind Pogoy, Enciso, John Paul Erram and Jeth Troy Rosario as the lead reached its largest at 102-81.
Pogoy finished the contest with 20 points while Parks, Rosario and Enciso added 18, 17 and 16 markers respectively for the Tropang Giga. Celedonio Trollano tallied 23 markers for the Elite.
BOX SCORE:
ALASKA 89 – Manuel 18, Teng 13, Ebona 10, Tratter 10, Herndon 9, Digregorio 7, Brondial 7, Casio 5, Ahanmisi 5, Galliguez 3, Ayaay 2, Marcelino 0.
RAIN OR SHINE 88 – Onwubere 16, Mocon 14, Wong 12, Belga 10, Torres 10, Nambatac 7, Yap 5, Norwood 5, Doliguez 3, Rosales 2, Ponferrada 2, Rivero 2, Tolentino 0.
QUARTERSCORES:
Q1, 22-18; Q2, 38-41; Q3, 61-63; Q4, 89-88./PN
