Beermen tighten grip on No. 1 spot, stymie Aces
February 17, 2018 | 7:30pm
San Miguel Beer's Marcio Lassiter drives past Alaska's Chris Exciminiano. The Beermen rallied in the third quarter to upend the Aces and remain as the top team in the Philippine Cup. | PBA Images
MANILA, Philippines — San Miguel is still the hottest team in the PBA.
The Beermen pulled the rug on the Alaska Aces in the third frame and clung to the lead until the final buzzer, 109-96, in a rare PBA Philippine Cup affair in Batangas on Saturday night.
San Miguel trailed by as many as 15 in the game but managed to capture a scoring groove behind its usual troopers Chris Ross, Marcio Lassiter and Arwind Santos.
The Aces, who leaned on the marksmanship of grizzled guard JVee Casio and Sonny Thoss, were also able to make a last-ditch effort to salvage the game.
But the Beermen displayed why they have won the last three Philippine Cup championships. Santos and Ross delivered the gut punches to swing the lead back to double digits as the game entered its final minute.
San Miguel's conquest of Alaska — which has been equally sharp this conference — solidifies the Beermen's hold of the top spot in the all-Filipino conference. They now tout a 7-2 record.
The Aces, on the other hand, dropped to 6-4, but remain as the fourth best crew in the standings.
The Beermen face Kia next before wrapping up the elimination phase in a tussle against Rain or Shine. The Aces are also set to conclude the preliminaries with the Elasto Painters.
The scores
SAN MIGUEL 109 – Ross 24, Lassiter 21, Santos 21, Fajardo 17, Ganuelas-Rosser 11, De Ocampo 6, Lanete 4, Heruela 3, Vigil 2, Semerad 0, Pessumal 0.
ALASKA 96 – Casio 20, Thoss 15, Racal 13, Manuel 13, Pascual R. 9, Enciso 9, Abueva 7, Cruz 6, Exciminiano 4, Potts 0, Pascual J. 0.
Quarters: 16-26; 41-50; 74-71; 109-96.
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