The Alaska Aces came from behind to defeat the Sta. Lucia Realtors, 103-95, Sunday night at the Araneta Coliseum to keep their hopes alive for forcing a playoff for the second automatic semifinals spot in the PBA Fiesta Conference. The Aces trailed by as many as 20 points midway through the first half after drilling 11 three-pointers. But Alaska came charging back in the second half to beat Realtors. “We were shell shocked with the bombs they threw on us. We were shocked with awe out there,” said Alaska head coach Tim Cone. “But give the guys credit. They just keep on playing beyond it and we just hoped they start missing some of those shots and they did in the second half,” he added. The win gave Alaska an 11-6 win-loss record, just half a game behind B-Meg Derby Ace (11-5), and a full game behind the current No. 2 San Miguel Beermen (12-5). “It's not in our control. What's in our control is our game against San Miguel. We tie them with a win but we can't control B-Meg,” said Cone. The Llamados have Barangay Ginebra and Barako Coffee in their schedule and a split, coupled with Alaska's win over the Beermen will create a three-way tie for the No. 2 spot. In that case, the Aces and San Miguel meet in the playoff match for the bonus due to superior quotients, while relegating to Llamados in the quarterfinal round. Alaska import Diamon Simpson led Alaska with 32 points, while Cyrus Baguio added 23, with 15 coming in the second period that helped his team stay in the game after trailing 28-48. Baguio's exploits in the second quarter put the Aces within striking distance, 57-57 at halftime, then grabbed an 81-80 lead going to the final period. Reynel Hugnatan's 3-point play off Anthony Johnson sparked a 12-3 run for the Aces to erect a 93-83 spread. Johnson led the Realtors with 26 points while Josh Urbiztondo added a conference-high 20 points highlighted by six triples. Sta. Lucia went down to 5-12. In the second game of the doubleheader, the Air21 Express stunned the Barangay Ginebra Kings, 98-97, to keep their hopes of staying alive in the tourney. LeRoy Hickerson finished with a game-high 33 points, including 2 free throws that gave the Express a 98-97 lead with 11.7 seconds left in the game. The Kings had two chances to reclaim the advantage, but Enrico Villanueva's two attempts were both blocked by former Ginebra center Billy Mamaril. Denham Brown had another shot to win the game for Ginebra, but his shot was also off the mark as time expired. The loss derailed the Kings' entry in the quarterfinals as they fell to a 9-8 record. On Saturday, the B-Meg Derby Ace Llamados survived a late Talk N Text charge to edge the Tropang Texters, 88-87, in Tacloban City in a road game in the PBA Fiesta Conference. Their fourth straight win gave extra fuel to the Llamados' hopes of at least forcing a playoff for the last semifinals berth. Derby Ace now sports an 11-5 win-loss card, just a game behind the second-running San Miguel Beermen (12-5). If the Llamados win their last two games – against Barangay Ginebra on June 23 and Barako Energy Coffee on June 27 – and if the Beermen lose their last game in the elimination rounds, against Alaska on June 26, Derby Ace will get the No. 2 spot and gain the coveted outright semifinals slot. If the Llamados win their last two games and the Beermen beat the Aces, the Llamados would force a playoff for the outright semifinals berth. The league-leading Texters earlier put a lock on the first automatic semifinals berth after notching their 14th win. But the loss Saturday finally put an end to the Texters' record-breaking 13-win streak. The game nearly went into overtime after the Texters tied the game at 87-all with a few seconds remaining. But KG Canaleta sank the winning free throw after he was fouled while attempting to dunk an alley
