Aces repeat over Phone Pals

After a close, come-from-behind win which was put under protest by Mobiline in their previous encounter, the Alaska Aces fashioned out a decisive victory over the Phone Pals last night to assure themselves of a shot at the playoff for the last berth in the PBA All-Filipino Cup quarterfinals.

Getting a big lift from their reserve crew in the fourth quarter, the Aces overcame a woeful third-quarter stint and repeated over the Phone Pals, 74-63, as they practically grabbed a seat in the Final Eight to the delight of their cheering crowd at the Philsports Arena.

Eric Reyes, Jon Ordonio and Bryan Gahol came off the bench to score big baskets in the payoff period, helping the Aces complete the crucial win that also kept the reigning champions in contention for a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals.

Alaska checked its two-game skid and caught Purefoods at sixth place, only half-game behind Ginebra, Pop Cola and Red Bull with identical 6-6 win-loss card.

Reyes and Gahol delivered crucial hits on Mobiline, their former team which moved out of the fight for a place in the Top Four on its seventh defeat against only five wins.

"Our bench did a great job. Eric (Reyes), Jon (Ordonio) and Bryan (Gahol) gave us a big lift, bringing us back into the game with their energy and execution," said Alaska coach Tim Cone.

Reyes, Ordonio and Gahol actually combined for only eight in the fourth quarter but all of those points counted in bringing back order in Alaska’s game after the Aces ran into a maze of errors and missed shots in the third quarter.

Alaska scored only a single basket in its last 16 ball possessions in the third canto as it squandered big lead and fell behind at 45-51 going into the final 12 minutes of play.

With their shock troopers coming to the rescue, the Aces averted a total foldup and made a strong finish to pull off the win that overshadowed the career 10,000 points of Jerry Codiñera.

Codiñera scored 17 points as he finally reached the milestone, joining only 12 other players in the elite roster of achievers. The former UE Warriors in the UAAP became only the fourth slotman to do the feat after Ramon Fernandez, Abet Guidaben and Benjie Paras.

Ali Peek, playing without relief in the absence of the injured Don Allado, helped Alaska spoil Codiñera’s night as he snared a career-high 22 rebounds that went with 18 points and two rebounds.