The Alaska Aces survived waves of ferocious rallies by the Barangay Ginebra Kings, winning 105-96, Sunday night to grab the solo lead with their fourth straight win in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum. In the nightcap, the Talk N Text Tropang Texters also stayed unbeaten, hacking out a 100-83 victory against the Sta. Lucia Realtors. It was the Texters' third straight win to take the second spot in the standings while the Realtors suffered their first loss after two straight wins. The day before, the Burger King Whoppers scored their second win in four games, beating the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 91-89, in a road game in Gingoog City, Misamis Oriental. The Aces took a 20-point halftime lead as they took advantage of a crippled Ginebra squad playing minus Mark Caguioa and Erik Menk, both sidelined by injuries – swollen left knee for Caguioa and fractured pinky toe for Menk. The Kings suffered their first loss in four games. Although he finished with only 11 points, Willie Miller scored seven of his team's last 15 markers to once again play the fireman's role in dousing Ginebra's fourth quarter uprising. Reynel Hugnatan led the Aces with 20 points and eight rebounds. The Kings moved to within two points of overhauling Alaska's lead several times, the last at 90-92, with still over seven minutes left. Reigning MVP Jayjay Helterbrand poured 23 points plus seven rebounds while Ronald Tubid chipped in 22 points and five rebounds. The two combined for 21 of Ginebra's 38 points in the third period when the Kings unleashed their full firepower. When Helterbrand scored a basket to cut Alaska's lead to 92-90, Miller, fresh off the bench, struck back with a long jumper. He then scored on a fastbreak, split his free throws and then eluded his guard for an easy layup to help push Alaska safely ahead at 103-95 with 1:02 left to play. Miller also had five rebounds, two assists and committed only a single error. Earlier, the Whoppers scored a two-point win against the Painters in a game decided only in the last 1.6 seconds. Ronjay Buenafe scored the winning basket for Burger King on a driving lay up to shatter an 89-89 deadlock. Buenafe finished with 22 points for the Whoppers who yielded an 18-point lead, trailed by as many as 12, before recovering their wits in the final minutes for the win. The Painters now share the cellar with the Coca-Cola Tigers and the Smart Gilas, three teams with a 0-3 win
