MANILA – Alaska Aces rode on the exploits of Mike Harris in the endgame to oust Meralco Bolts from the race to the Finals 99-92 in Game 4 of their 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup semifinal face-off on Saturday at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
With the scores tied at 73-all, Harris and Chris Banchero uncorked back-to-back triples for the Aces to surge 79-75. Two free throws and another triple by Harris extended the Aces’ lead to 84-75 with over four minutes left.
The Bolts made their last push and managed to come to as close as 83-88 on a Reynel Hugnatan triple. Free throws from Harris, Kevin Racal and Simon Enciso sealed the win for the Aces.
Harris led Alaska with double-double 27 points and 14 rebounds. Jvee Casio chipped in 14 markers while Manuel, Racal and rookie Jeron Teng each had 10 points.
The Aces will face Magnolia Hotshots in the best-of-five Finals series that starts Dec. 5 after the fifth window of the 2019 FIBA World Cup Qualifier.
Meralco showed more sense of urgency in the opening half, going up by as much as 14 points, but Alaska responded with a run from Harris, Banchero and Teng to come to within 47-48 at the half.
The Aces took control of the game in the third period behind locals Teng, Racal and Casio for a 68-60 advantage.
The Bolts started strong in the fourth behind their bench players and managed to tie the count for the last time at 73-all.
Allen Durham finished with double-double 31 points and 14 rebounds while Hugnatan and Chris Newsome added 13 and 12 points, respectively, for the Bolts, a two-time PBA Governors’ Cup runner-up./PN
