Sat, 01/09/2010 - 20:38
BATANGAS – Barangay Ginebra stayed on the romp on the road, firming up its bid for a slot in the Magic Five with a stirring 93-90 come-from-behind win over Alaska Milk at the Batangas City Sports Center here Saturday night. The Kings waged a fierce second-half siege largely behind the exploits of their acrobatic slashers, overcoming an 18-point deficit for the key victory that sent the team to solo third entering the homestretch of the KFC PBA Philippine Cup elimination phase. High-flyers Cyrus Baguio, JC Intal and Ronald Tubid fuelled the Kings’ uprising that led to the team’s sixth straight triumph on the road dating back to the 2009 Fiesta Conference. Barangay Ginebra thus jacked up its record to 11-6 for solo third ahead of Talk 'N Text (10-6), Sta. Lucia (9-6) and Purefoods (9-6). Returning from a three-week rest, the Aces buckled down to work early but failed to sustain their effort, thus, missing another shot for at least a playoff for an outright semis seat. With San Miguel Beer putting the lock on the first outright semis seat, Alaska is now in pursuit of the second semis berth along with the Kings, Tropang Texters, Realtors and Giants. The Aces have Sta. Lucia, Purefoods and Burger King for their last three assignments in the elims with two victories guaranteeing the team of an automatic semis passage. The Kings started flat but frolicked in the second half with tremendous boost on the exploits of Baguio, Intal and Tubid. The three deadly slashers put in at least 17 points each for the Kings who overcame a 24-42 deficit and a 29-point explosion by Alaska main man Willie Miller. Willy Wilson added 11 points on top of numerous hustle plays helping Ginebra get past Alaska in the penultimate stop of the PBA Phoenix Fuel on Tour. The Philippine Cup titlists three seasons ago, the Kings scored heavily on fastbreak plays to negate Miller’s personal conference-best output. Ginebra piled up 11 fastbreak points to none for Alaska in the third quarter as the Kings raced ahead at 62-61. Keeping the pace in the fourth, the Kings erected a 15-point spread at 85-70 before facing the Aces’ own chase at the finish. The Aces jumped the gun on the Kings, building an 18-point margin at 42-24 before settling for a 44-34 lead at halftime. Miller ran a show in the first quarter then the Alaska reserves took over in the second period as they dominated the Kings in the first 24 minutes of play. The two-time MVP winner nearly outscored the entire Ginebra team in the opening period, making 15 points on a fierce 7-of-8 field-goal shooting. (SB)

The scores: Barangay Ginebra 93 – Baguio 20, Tubid 17, Intal 17, Wilson 11, Cruz 9, Salvacion 6, Menk 6, Mamaril 4, Villanueva 3, White 2. Alaska 90 – Miller 29, Devance 13, Dela Cruz 13, Tenorio 11, Thoss 8, Hugnatan 6, Borboran 5, Fonacier 3, Cariaso 2, Sotto 0. Quarterscores: 18-25, 34-44, 62-61, 93-90