MANILA — When Alaska's 3 Cs are at their best, toppling the Aces is like taking an impossible test. The three Cs – (JVee) Casio, Calvin (Abueva), and Cyrus (Baguio) – were on fire from start to finish as the Alaska Aces humbled the top-seeded and two-time defending champions Talk N Text Tropang Texters, 100-88, Friday in Game 2 of the 2012-2013 PBA Philippine Cup semifinals at the SM Mall of Asia Arena. Casio scored 22 points, including five three-pointers, while Abueva had a monstrous double-double 18 points and 14 rebounds. Baguio completed Alaska's mighty triumvirate with 18 points, including 10 in the pivotal fourth quarter. The victory knotted the series at 1-1 with Game 3 set Wednesday. The Texters suffered only their third loss in the season and snapped their seven-game winning run. The match was a nip-and-tuck affair until the Aces unleashed a 13-4 run midway in the final quarter to pull ahead, 89-78 with 5:34 remaining. The Texters cut the lead to 91-85, but the Aces answered with an 8-3 blast, with Baguio knocking in five straight points, breaking the backs of the bewildered Texters. Jared Dillinger led Talk N Text with 26 points while Kelly Williams and Jayson Castro had 13 and 12 points respectively. But the rest of the Texters were a no-show with Jimmy Alapag scoring just four points on 1-of-11 shooting. After his Game 1 heroics, Ryan Reyes was held scoreless in 27 minutes of action. Alaska head coach Luigi Trillo said they found a way to impose their will on the Texters. “You can't outscore Talk N Text. We're able to play our tempo and grind it out,” he said. In the other Game 2 semifinals duel played earlier, James Yap regained his shooting touch, firing 34 points, including 16 in the third quarter, to power the San Mig Coffee Mixers to a 106-82 win against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters. Shaking off the knee injury he suffered in Game 1, Yap was nearly flawless from long range, hitting 7-of-12 from beyond the arc. He likewise grabbed 10 rebounds in his best performance in the conference so far. The victory avenged the Mixers' 91-83 Game 1 defeat to the Painters last Wednesday, levelling their series at 1-1 with Game 3 set on Dec. 25. Down by two, 38-40, at halftime, the Mixers exploded for 68 points in the second half while limiting the Painters to 42 points. Mark Barroca and Joe Devance provided ample support to Yap, banging in 17 points apiece, while Peter June Simon chimed in 13. Barroca also finished with seven rebounds and eight assists. The Mixers complemented their sizzling offense with a lockdown defense that silenced Rain or Shine's top gunners. Paul Lee shot just 2-of-12 from the field while Jeff Chan was 3-of-10. Larry Rodriguez and JR Quinahan led Rain of Shine with 12 points apiece. With his boys unable to make headway, Rain or Shine head coach Yeng Guiao blew his top at the referees, leading to his ejection in the third quarter after incurring his second technical foul. “We just got frustrated with the calls. We felt that they were allowing too much contact against us while we couldn't defend them with the same amount of contact,” Guiao said. For his part, San Mig Coffee head coach Tim Cone said the key to their victory was his players' refusal to fall into a 2-0 hole. “We had to play this game at a desperation level. We couldn't go down 2-0,” he said.
