The Alaska Aces shackled the Air21 Express, 76-65, Friday night to clinch the first of two outright semifinals seats in the KFC Philippine Cup elimination round. In the first game of the double-header played at the Ynares Center in Antipolo City, the Coca-Cola Tigers clawed their way back from a 20-point deficit to eliminate the Red Bull Barakos, 88-86, and seize the last slot in the wildcard phase of the conference. The win avenged the Aces loss to the Express during their first meeting and assured Alaska the top spot in the conference. This became clear despite the possibility that Rain or Shine and Talk N Text can still catch up with Alaska at 11-7. However, if this happens, the Aces will still gain an outright ticket to the semifinals because of their superior quotient. Alaska put on an impressive defensive show as it limited Air21 - the leagues best offensive team averaging above 100 points a game – to its lowest output of 65 points this conference. The loss snuffed out the Express hopes of getting a semis berth as they suffered their ninth loss in 17 games. They now would have to win their last game against the Talk N Text Tropang Texters on Dec. 25 to be able to get a chance for a playoff for an automatic slot in the quarterfinals. Alaskas Willie Miller scored the first triple-double by any player this PBA conference, his first for Alaska and only his second throughout his career as he churned 23 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. In the other game, John Arigo scored a personal conference-high 31 points to lead Coke to a come-from-behind victory against Red Bull. It was Arigo's second highest scoring output in his career, next only to his 35-point performance in the 2005-05 PBA Philippine Cup when Coke defeated FedEx, 104-97. Ronjay Buenafe also shone for the Tigers, draining 14 points all in the second half, including nine in the third quarter. The win lifted Coke to a 7-11 win-loss record. The loss dropped Red Bull to 5-12 to assure itself of a last-place finish in the conference and thus the first team to be eliminated. The 2008-09 PBA campaign proved to be a disaster for the Barakos, who had not suffered first-round elimination since the 2004-05 Philippine Cup. Red Bull also missed the playoffs for just the second time in the last 19 conferences. Buenafe nailed a three-pointer to tie the score for the first time at 80-all. After a Red Bull turnover, he again hit a jumper to give Coke an 82-80 advantage, the Tigers' first taste of the lead, with 3:23 to play. From then on, it was a Coca-Cola show as theTigers repulsed every Red Bull attempt to wrest back the lead. Scores: Alaska 76 – Miller 23, Dela Cruz 15, De Vance 9, Hugnatan 8, Cariaso 7, Tenorio 4, Thoss 4, Ferriols 4, Fonacier 2. Air21 65 – Intal 17, David 13, Kramer 7, Arboleda 7, Santos 5, Billones 5, Quinahan 4, Canaleta 3, Se 2, Allado 2, Cruz 0, Sta. Maria 0. Quarters: 21-11, 37-25, 53-45, 76
