Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — Facing elimination, the Alaska Aces fought with extra fire in their bellies to defeat the Barangay Ginebra Kings, 104-98, Wednesday night in the last elimination round game of the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum. The victory not only sent the Aces to the playoffs but allowed them to jump from eighth to sixth place as well, preventing a twice-to-win disadvantage and arranging a best-of-three quarterfinals series against the Purefoods Star Hotshots. Alaska, Barako Bull and Ginebra all finished with a 5-6 win-loss card. But their superior quotient enabled the Aces to secure the sixth seed while the Energy and Kings get the seventh and eighth seeds, respectively. The Kings thus found themselves with a twice-to-win disadvantage as they go up against the top-seeded Rain or Shine Elasto Painters (8-3) in the next round. The Aces needed to win by six points to secure the sixth seeding, and import Damion James made sure of that when he scored on a short stab with 4.8 seconds remaining. James finished with 29 points and 14 rebounds. He had ample support from Cyrus Baguio, who finished with 17 points, five assists and three rebounds; Calvin Abueva, who scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds; and RJ Jazul who chipped in with 10 markers. The Kings were led by their import Michael Dunigan who posted 32 points and 13 rebounds. Mark Baracael added 18 markers while Japeth Aguilar chipped in with 17 points before limping off the court in the final quarter after apparently twisting his right ankle. LA Tenorio, who led an endgame Ginebra rally that fell short, finished with 10 points. The Aces led by as much as 15 points in the game before the Kings launched a furious fightback that enabled them to take the lead, 90-89, with 5:04 remaining in the game. However, the Aces countered with their own 15-8 blast to finish off the Kings. Blackwater 84, Meralco 72 Already eliminated from the playoffs, the Blackwater Elite closed out their PBA Commissioner's Cup campaign on a winning note, turning the tables on the Meralco Bolts, 84-72. Blackwater thus bowed out of the conference with a 3-8 slate but still at the bottom of the standings. Also failing to qualify for the playoffs were the San Miguel Beermen (4-7, 11th place), Kia Carnival (4-7, 10th place) and GlobalPort Batang Pier (4-7, ninth place). The Elite improved on their 0-14 finish in the season-opening Philippine Cup. Import Marcus Douthit led the Elite with 27 points and 14 rebounds while JP Erram played his best game yet in the league, finishing with 21 points, eight rebounds and four blocks for Blackwater. Newly acquired Reil Cervantes, formerly from Kia, also had a good game for Blackwater, posting 13 points. Another rookie Brian Heruela, who leads the conference overall in assists, filled up the stats sheets with seven points, five assists, four boards, and three steals. Although Meralco dropped to 6-5 with the loss, it hardly mattered since the Bolts have already secured a quarterfinals spot and will go up against sister team NLEX Road Warriors in a best-of-three series. Jared Dillinger led the Bolts with 15 points and seven rebounds while Sean Anthony and Mike Cortez finished with 13 points apiece. Import Josh Davis posted 11 points and 20 rebounds. Games Friday: NLEX Road Warriors vs. Meralco Bolts (best-of-3 quarterfinals); Purefoods Star Hotshots vs. Alaska Aces (best-of-3 quarterfinals).
