MANILA – Mike Harris carried Alaska Aces on his back in the endgame for them to escape with a 104-102 win over Meralco Bolts in Game 3 of their 2018 PBA Governors’ Cup semifinal round on Thursday at the Cuneta Astrodome in Pasay City.
With both teams tied at 95-all after a triple by the Bolts’ Reynel Hugnatan, Harris drained 5 straight points – an inside hit and a 3-point play – for the Aces to surge 100-98.
After the Bolts tied the scores 100-all on a conversion by Allen Durham, Harris connected another 3-point play for the Aces for a 103-100 lead. After a Durham layup cut the deficit to one, Harris split from the line to raise the lead 104-102.
The Bolts had multiple opportunities to force an overtime but Durham and Hugnatan misfired in their shots from inside while the last minute heave by Anjo Caram was wayward.
Harris finished the match with 31 points to go along with 24 rebounds and seven assists for the Aces, which moved closer to returning to the PBA Finals by taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five semifinal series.
Simon Enciso and Chris Banchero added 17 markers apiece, while Bacolodnon Siverino Baclao came off the bench to score 11 points for Alaska. The Aces last reached the Finals two years ago.
It was a seesaw battle in the opening half. The Aces dominated the first canto 25-22 on shots by Harris and Enciso while the Bolts countered in the second frame for a 53-47 halftime advantage.
The Bolts were on top 64-53 early in the third period when the Aces went on a huge tear behind Harris, Vic Manuel and Banchero for a 70-all score before taking a 75-74 lead on a Jvee Casio trey.
Meralco went up again 85-79 at the onset of the fourth frame but Alaska countered with a run from Banchero, Harris and Enciso to keep the match on a deadlock for the last time at 100-all.
Durham finished with 37 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, while Hugnatan and Chris Newsome chipped in 19 and 18 markers, respectively, for the Bolts, which were hoping for a third straight Governors’ Cup Finals stint./PN
