Aces survive depleted Llamados, 97-91

Alaska leaned on a short but telling run in the final two minutes to survive a big Derby Ace rally and win, 97-91, Sunday night in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Araneta Coliseum. Joe Devance finished with 19 points and accounted for all of the Aces’six straight points in the final 1:49 that proved to be the key in the team’s second straight win for a 4-1 (win-loss) card overall. The Fil-Am big man converted on a follow-up following a missed three-pointer by LA Tenorio to shatter the game’s final deadlock at 89-all. He then knocked in two free throws 42 seconds later, before sealing the victory with another pair of charities in the final 25 seconds. “It came down to making plays down the stretch. LA making the plays, Joe getting rebounds off the shots. That’s what great players do," said Alaska coach Tim Cone. “You take anything at this point. Luckily, we held on and came out on top." Devance added 14 rebounds and dished out five assists. LD Williams led the Aces with a personal conference-high of 30 points, while Tenorio added 16 points and seven assists, and Sonny Thoss had 14 points, 10 rebounds, and four assists. Alaska’s win spoiled the return of Kerby Raymundo and handed the Llamados’ their third defeat in five games. After missing the Llamados’ last 33 games and 55 of the team’s previous 57 dating back to the 2010 Fiesta Conference due to hip and groin injuries that required surgeries in the United States, Raymundo finally suited up for Derby Ace and played 13 minutes. He finished with four points and three rebounds. His return to active duty was indeed badly needed by a team decimated by injuries to key players Raffy Reavies, Rico Maierhofer, Jonas Villanueva, Don Allado and Jondan Salvador. James Yap finished with a team-high 22 points, but was 0-of-5 from three-point range. He also suffered cramps and was taken out with 5:18 remaining in the game. He returned to action in the last 67 seconds, but was hardly a factor. “James might have made a difference down the stretch," said Cone. It was Mark Pingris who made the big difference for the Llamados as the do-it-all forward finished with 18 points, 12 coming in the second half, and nine rebounds. Shamari Spears had 16 points, while PJ Simon added 12 on 6-of-12 shooting from the field. Together, they were responsible for the Llamados’ big comeback from 16 points down (73-57) midway in the third period, unleashing a 14-4 blast, with Pingris scoring six, to tie the game at 89, time down to the last 2:24. - KY, RCJ, GMA News