Jay R. Gotera
MANILA — The Alaska Aces used their extensive playoff experience to the hilt to prevail over the overachieving Meralco Bolts, 76-70, in the deciding Game 5 of their PBA Commissioner’s Cup semifinal series Wednesday night.
The Aces thus advanced to the best-of-seven Finals against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, a series that begins this Friday.
Calvin Abueva, front-runner in the race for the Best Player of the Conference, played his heart out, finishing with a team-high 19 points, eight rebounds and two steals. His tip-in of a missed shot by import Rob Dozier gave Alaska the lead for good.
Chris Banchero also delivered the goods for the Aces, posting 18 points, three rebounds and four assists from off the bench.
Dozier collected 14 points and a whopping 18 rebounds.
R.J. Jazul also came up big in the payoff period, sinking four insurance free throws to finish with nine points.
The Aces lost an eight-point lead with over seven minutes left in the game as the Bolts grabbed the lead, 67-66, after a virtual three-point play by Jared Dillinger.
But Abueva regained the lead and the momentum back for Alaska, tipping in Dozier’s missed shot to put the Aces back in the lead. Jazul then buried four straight free throws to seal the game and the series.
It will be the third straight time that the Aces will be advancing to the Finals, and the fourth over the last five conferences.
Alaska will likely still miss the services of its two starters — Vic Manuel and JVee Casio — who still have to fully recover from their injuries when it goes up against an intact Rain or Shine team.
It will be the first time after a long, long while that Alaska will be going up against Rain or Shine in the Finals. Also, for the first time in 16 years, no team from the San Miguel Corp. or MVP group will be in the finals.
The Aces had to exert their very best effort to beat a hard-fighting and resilient Meralco squad.
Jared Dillinger paced the Bolts in a losing effort with 18 points. Import Arinze Onuaku added 15, while rookie Baser Amer chipped in with 12.
Meralco was denied the chance to advance to the Finals for the first time in the history of the franchise.
Still, the Bolts had a much better showing in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, leading in the team standings for most parts, and securing the second seed with an 8-3 win-loss record. In contrast, the Bolts placed dead last in the Philippine Cup before that, finishing with just two wins in 11 outings.
Game Friday: Rain or Shine Elasto Painters vs. Alaska Aces (Game 1, best-of-7 Finals).
