The Alaska Aces are back in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup Finals. The Aces limited Barangay Ginebra to just two points in a crucial four minute span on their way to pulling off a 102-95 win Wednesday to earn a return trip to the championship round of the All-Filipino conference.
LA Tenorio paced Alaska with 20 points and led a key scoring run that saw the Aces rattling off eight unanswered points in the homestretch of Game 4 at the Araneta Coliseum. That scoring binge readily took the fight out of the embattled Kings as they got swept by the Aces in their best-of-seven semifinals series, 4-0. Alaska, the second seeded team at the end of the eliminations, now await for their best-of-seven Finals opponent after Purefoods leveled their own semifinals duel with San Miguel at 2-2. "I really don’t know what’s happening, but they (Aces) are really playing spectacular basketball," said Tim Cone in giving the ultimate praise for his squad. The Aces are on their 24th finals appearance and are in a good position of winning the title that slipped out of their grip last year when it bungled a 2-0 lead in the finals to yield the series to Talk ‘N Text in seven games. The Aces’ 4-0 win is also just the fourth time in league history that a team completed a sweep of a best-of-seven series.
Alaska's Willie Miller tries to drive past Ginebra's Ronald Tubid during one of their games in the PBA Philippine Cup semifinals series at the Big Dome. Jeff Venancio
Tenorio also had 10 assists, while Reynel Hugnatan had another solid performance with 18 points and 10 rebounds. The Kings gave the Aces some anxious moments until the final six minute mark when Billy Mamaril’s jumper just inside the foul line tied the game for the last time at 85-85. Then coming off a time out, Tenorio hit a three-pointer, and after a Ginebra turn over, the wily 5-foot-10 guard initiated a fastbreak play which Joe Devance finished with a three-point play, putting the Aces in command, 91-85. Hugnatan stretched the lead to eight with an inside stab, before Enrico Villanueva broke the Kings’ silence to make it 93-87. But Tenorio scored three straight from the foul line, allowing the Aces to pull away for good, 96-87, with three minutes left.
Scores Alaska 102 – Tenorio 20, Hugnatan 18, Thoss 15, De Vance 14, Dela Cruz 9, Cablay 8, Borboran 7, Miller 7, Cariaso 4, Fonacier 0, Ferriols 0. Ginebra 95 – Helterbrand 20, Tubid 15, Villanueva 15, Intal 10, Mmaril 9, Caguioa 9, Salvacion 5, Baguio 4, Alvarez 3, Wilson 3, Cruz 2, Abarrientos 0. Quarter scores: 27-27, 53-59, 72-73, 102-95.
"They came into the series looking tired," said Cone of the Kings, who went the full five games against the Tropang Texters in the quarterfinals after being down 0-2 in the best-of-five duel. "In contrast, we’re coming off a rest so we just bring it on to the entire series." JayJay Helterbrand finished with 20 points while Ronald Tubid and Villanueva tallied 15 each for the Kings, who once again missed the services of the injured Eric Menk.
– GMANews.TV 
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