Aces outlast E-Painters, stay unbeaten

MANILA, Philippines - Gilas pioneer lead guard Jvee Casio showed up Gilas hopeful Chris Tolomia in the crunch, dishing off an assist and canning in four pressure-packed charities in the last 30 seconds as Alaska Milk slipped past Rain or Shine, 105-102, to preserve its clean slate in the PBA Commissioner’s Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum last night.

Tolomia came off the bench late in the game and provided spark and fire instantly as the Elasto Painters erased a nine-point lead and seized the lead, 97-93, entering the last two minutes of the contest.

Challenged by the ROS rookie, Casio took over in the clutch, delivering the biggest plays to anchor Alaska’s fourth straight win following earlier victories over GlobalPort, Blackwater and Mahindra.

Casio fed off Cory Jefferson to shove Alaska back on top, 101-99, before the heady playmaker sealed their win on 4-of-4 free throws in the last 16 seconds.

In contrast, Tolomia crumbled at the finish, committing an error and missing a game-tying three-point attempt at the buzzer.

His nine points, three assists and two rebounds – all made in the payoff period – went for naught as the E-Painters suffered a second loss in a row after their 3-0 conference start.

“Casio played great. What a game!” said Alaska coach Alex Compton.

“I was quite nervous when he got his fifth foul especially as we had so many injuries. But he really showed up,” Compton pointed out, lauding Casio particularly on the crucial free throws.

“I challenged him that if you’re a point guard, you have to lead in the crunch and you have to knock down free throws. It’s part of the job prescription. He did that,” said Compton.

Jefferson held his own in his own key matchup with Rain or Shine counterpart Shawn Taggart, firing away a trey and a short stab down the stretch to cap a 41-point job he also laced with 13 rebounds and three assists against three turnovers.

Taggart produced 40 markers, including a triple that kept ROS in the game at 102-103.

“Shawn was special for them, but Cory was also special for us. He made clutch shots pretty late and those helped us out,” said Compton.

Tolomia was ROS coach Caloy Garcia’s key late-game sub after the E-Painters struggled all throughout, trailing by 14 at 53-67.

The former FEU stalwart, a candidate for the Gilas team to the coming SEABA Championship, scored on a scoop shot then rifled in a trey in a sudden 9-0 blitz that shoved the E-Painters ahead at 91-87 midway in the fourth.

Later in the night, Philippine Cup champ San Miguel Beer came from behind to stop Meralco’s romp, 99-92.

Marcio Lassiter, Alex Cabagnot and June Mar Fajardo came through in the payoff period as the Beermen made a triumphant  Commissioner’s Cup debut and kept their mastery of the team they haven’t lost a game too since their 2015 Governors Cup do-or-die matchup.