Jay R. Gotera Saudi Gazette MANILA — The Alaska Aces averted a major endgame collapse to squeak past the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 94-93, Friday night in the PBA Governors' Cup match in Antipolo City. Leading by 13 points early in the fourth quarter, 77-64, the Aces suddenly found themselves on the brink of defeat after the Painters ignited a huge 23-7 run, including 15 straight points, to grab an 87-84 lead. A three-point shot by Paul Lee gave ROS a four-point lead, 91-87, with 3:52 remaining. But the Aces regained their fiery form in the nick of time, quickly unloading a 7-0 run, four of them from Sonny Thoss, the only points the veteran Alaska center scored in the game, to regain the lead at 94-91 with a minute left. ROS rookie Jericho Cruz drilled two free throws to cut the lead to one. After the Painters got a stop, Lee had a chance to score the game winner but missed his final shot on a drive, allowing Alaska to post its third straight victory and claim a share of the lead. ROS suffered its second straight defeat. Import Romeo Travis led Alaska with 23 points, 13 rebounds and five assists. R.J. Jazul punched in 14 points, while Vic Manuel added 13 markers. JVee Casio and Dondon Hontiveros chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Import Wendell McKines led the Painters with 24 points. Cruz and Lee added 16 and 13 points, respectively. Barako Bull 100, Talk N Text 87 Led by a giant import and three Ginebra outcasts, the Barako Bull Energy sent this year's Commissioner's Cup champion Talk N Text Tropang Texters tumbling to the ground with a 100-87 victory, their third straight in the conference, to join idle GlobalPort at the top of the standings. Bulky 7'2” Canadian import Liam McMorrow played another monster game, finishing with 26 points and 28 rebounds, to inflict TNT's first loss in the conference. Three former Ginebra players – Dylan Ababou, JC Intal and Joseph Yeo – provided strong support to their hulking import. Ababou posted 17 points on an impressive 7-of-10 (70 percent) shooting from the field. Intal had 14 while Yeo finished with 12 points. R.R. Garcia chipped in with 13 markers to preserve Barako Bull's immaculate record. Barako Bull quickly seized momentum and raced to an early 25-14 lead in the first quarter never to look back again. American import Steffphon Pettigrew led TNT with 23 points. Jay Washington added 14 points while Willy Miller and Asian import Sam Daghles from Jordan chipped in with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Daghles was ice-cold in the early going, missing 13 of his first 14 shots in the game. Game Saturday: Barangay Ginebra Kings vs. Blackwater Elite.
