Alaska Aces storm to 3-0 lead vs Ginebra Kings

Alaska survived a big fourth-quarter comeback by Barangay Ginebra and held on to a 91-88 win to stand on the verge of earning a return trip to the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup Finals. L.A. Tenorio scored 11 of his team-high 15 points in the opening half, Tony De La Cruz added a double-double with 15 markers and 15 rebounds, and Reynel Hugnatan had nine, including a timely split from the foul line in the final 7.7 seconds that proved to be the marginal basket in Game 3 of the best-of-seven semifinals series at the Araneta Coliseum.

With a commanding 3-0 lead, the Aces can put away the Kings for good in Game 4 on Wednesday and get another shot at the All-Filipino crown they lost in seven grueling games against Talk `N Text last year. No team in the 35-year history of the PBA has come back from such a huge deficit to win a series. “We know better that Ginebra doesn’t quit," said an obviously relieved Alaska coach Tim Cone. “My hats off to them. The good thing with this win is that this set us up not to let our guards down for Game 4." The Aces almost squandered a commanding 23-point advantage in the fourth quarter as the Kings held them without a field goal in the game’s final eight minutes. The Kings even had a chance to tie the game when Ronald Tubid was sent to the foul line following a steal off Tenorio and Alaska only ahead by 90-88. Alas, Tubid bungled his pressure-packed free throws in the final 9.5 seconds. Hugnatan, fielded back in between Tubid’s charities, then grabbed the defensive rebound and was fouled for two charities. He missed the first and connected on the second to give the Aces that three-point cushion. Mark Caguioa, however, launched an attempt from three-point land that didn’t even hit the rim. Tenorio recovered the loose ball but lost it to the end-line with 0.4 seconds remaining, not enough time for the Kings to make a decent attempt for a possible-tying three-pointer. “I’ve been around in this business for 20 years and I’ve seen a lot of things," said Cone. “The last time I was 3-0 up in a series we lost Game 4. I think I’m smart enough to communicate to the players." Alaska enjoyed its biggest lead of the game at 88-65 on a basket by Mark Borboran with 8:06 left to play. Alaska never converted a field goal from there, and Ginebra started making its own. In an eight-minute stretch, the Aces could only get splits from Willie Miller and Brandon Cablay and couldn’t match the electrifying energy the Kings exerted. Caguioa made a slashing move down the middle and connected to make it 90-88. Joe Devance contributed 13 for Alaska and Willie Miller 10. The two-time MVP Miller, though, struggled just like in Game 1 of the series, shooting merely 3-of-12 from the field. Caguioa led Ginebra with 20 points while JC Intal finally hit the double-digit mark with 12 points, the same output submitted by Sunday Salvacion and Jay-Jay Helterbrand. Tubid finished with 10 points. - GMANews.TV