Leading from start to finish, the Alaska Aces once again choked the Barangay Ginebra Kings, 90-82, Friday night at the Cuneta Astrodome to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven semifinal series in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup. Willie Miller scored 18 points and tallied seven assists and six rebounds to lead the Aces to another resounding victory against the Kings. Sonny Thoss and Tony dela Cruz also shone for the Aces as they scored Alaska's last four points that doused cold water on the rallying Kings. Thoss finished with 17 points while Dela Cruz had 14 markers on top of 16 rebounds. Enrico Villanueva led Ginebra with 17 points and 11 rebounds, playing extra minutes in the absence of Erik Menk who suffered a groin injury in practice that could sideline him for the rest of the conference. Sunday Salvacion chipped in 14 points. JC Intal, Ginebra's hero in the quarterfinals series against Talk N Text, was held scoreless by the stingy Alaska defense. In the other semifinals series, Rafi Reavis led the Purefoods TJ Giants to a huge 103-84 win against the San Miguel Beermen, leveling their series at 1-all. The lanky 6-foot-seven center scored 20 points, snared 10 rebounds and had four shot blocks in an impressive display of ferocity on both ends of the court. The Giants were roused into action after starting center Kerby Raymundo were expelled from the court in the second quarter after incurring two straight technical fouls for excessive complaining to the referees. Raymundo ended up scoreless, the first time he failed to score a basket in eight years with Purefoods. But his expulsion appeared to have given the Giants the extra motivation to win the game as they finally solved the puzzle of San Miguel, a team that defeated them in their past three encounters. James Yap and KG Canaleta scored 17 points each while Roger Yap had 15 markers plus five rebounds and four assists. Danny Seigle led San Miguel with 16 points while Arwind Santos had 13 markers and 12 rebounds. Seigle's three-point shot with 6:59 left in the game put San Miguel to within 70-81. But James Yap anchored a 12-1 Purefoods' run, which he capped with a triple as the Giants pulled away for good, 93-71. Both teams will seek to shatter their 1-1 tie in Game 3 of their semifinals series on Sunday at the Araneta Coliseum where the Barangay Ginebra Kings will also try to break out of their slump and nail a first win against the Alaska Aces. At the post-game interview, Reavis claimed that Purefoods had at last found the formula on how to San Miguel. “We came out flat the last time,” said Reavis of the Giants' 88-93 loss to the Beermen in the opener of their semifinals series. “But we just know how to beat these guys.” Purefoods head coach Ryan Gregorio concurred. “Our legs were not present in Game 1. Luckily, today we played with tremendous effort, we defended well and we made a lot of stops,” he said.
