Tenorio lifts Aces past Beermen, 92-89

L.A. Tenorio wouldn’t allow Alaska to suffer another heartbreaking loss in the PBA Philippine Cup. Particularly not at the hands of old nemesis San Miguel Beer. Tenorio banged in a long three-pointer at the buzzer as the Aces survived a searing rally by the Beermen from 31 points down for a dramatic 92-89 win Sunday night at the Big Dome. Tenorio’s heroics helped snap the Aces’ two-game losing skid. The cerebral guard finished with 21 points, nine rebounds and five assists in a solid game. He punctuated his game-long brilliance with that booming, game-winning trey that left a big weekend crowd stunned. The huge shot by the former Ateneo playmaker came just a few moments after Dondon Hontiveros, coming off a well-set screen provided by Danny Seigle, nailed a three-pointer to tie the game at 89-all with 5.6 seconds left. Without a timeout to call, Tenorio rushed to the other end. The spitfire guard let loose a triple against the outstretched arms of Alex Cabagnot, his shot hitting the backboard first before going in. Pandemonium broke loose as Tenorio raised both arms in the air in triumph. It must have felt so good, especially since he did it against the team that handed them a 99-97 loss in the first round on a similar buzzer-beating basket by Cabagnot. “We didn’t have any timeouts left, kaya ginawan na lang natin ng paraan," said Tenorio after towing Alaska to its sixth win in 13 outings. “After a really bad game, it’s just a matter of how I would be able to bounce back," added the Alaska playmaker, who was held scoreless for the first time in the last two years in the Aces’ sorry 79-80 loss to Rain or Shine a week ago. Joe Devance had a conference-high 28 points, including 22 in the first half as he and Sonny Thoss took charge on offense for the Aces. Alaska led by as high as 31 points, the last at 67-36 just before halftime. But Hontiveros caught fire in the third period when the Beermen outscored the Aces, 27-15, to make it a 14-point game entering the final 12 minutes. Seigle went a perfect 7-of-7 from the foul line to finish with a conference-high 19 points. He led the Beermen’s final push in the stretch run, scoring six straight points to make it 89-86 with 1:55 to go. “Expected naman `yun dahil No. 1 team sila. We know they wouldn’t give up," said Tenorio of the Beermen’s amazing comeback. San Miguel finished its elimination-round campaign with an 11-3 mark. The Beermen will now wait for the outcome of Barangay Ginebra's and Talk `N Text’s final two outings to see if they’ll finish at No. 1 or No. 2 entering the playoffs. In either case, the league’s winningest team is already assured of a twice-to-beat advantage in the quarterfinals. - KY, RCJ, GMANews.TV