Kings, Llamados win, force rubber match

MANILA, Philippines - Barangay Ginebra hammered out a come-from-behind 94-90 win over Alaska to force a deciding Game 5 in their PBA Fiesta Conference quarterfinal series yesterday at the Cuneta Astrodome.

Their backs against the wall once more, the Gin Kings erased an 11-point deficit in the third canto, opened up a five-point cushion in the fourth and quashed Alaska’s late fightback to level the series at 2-all.

The crowd darlings will resume their quest for the semis tomorrow in a third-straight do-or-die match at the Big Dome.

“It all boils down to the desire of the players to stay alive and force a game (rubber match) on Sunday,” said Ginebra coach Jong Uichico, whose wards went down in the race-to-three series, 0-2, but revived their bid by taking games 3 and 4.

“We made the big stops, we scored the big shots and we didn’t make a lot of mistakes like we did in the first two games of the series. Now it’s a jumpball for the two of us,” he added.

JC Intal, hero of the Kings’ 91-87 Game 3 win, took off from where he left off, firing a triple to jumpstart an 8-4 exchange that gave the Gin Kings a 92-87 initiative going into the final 1:31.

Alaska threatened to within 92-90 through the efforts of import Diamon Simpson then gained the chance to knot the count or even take the lead when it got possession following Simpson’s block on Enrico Villanueva’s attempt.

 However, a tentative Joe De Vance committed a dribbling violation against a much smaller Jayjay Helterbrand on the offensive end, eventually setting the stage for Sunday Salvacion’s charities that all but sealed Ginebra’s win, 94-90, with 2.4 ticks left.

Ronald Tubid topscored for the Gin Kings with 13 points. He was backstopped by Intal, Willie Miller and Helterbrand who added 12 apiece.

Alaska got 25 markers and 17 rebounds from Simpson, who sat out the late stages of the third through the mid- point of the final canto due to foul trouble. Tenorio and ex-Ginebra Cyrus Baguio chipped in 14 apiece.

The Aces stormed to a pair of 11-point leads at the onset of the third, the last time at 54-43, but the Gin Kings refused to roll over and die, detonating a 15-2 bomb for a 58-56 lead.

Alaska actually shot better from the field, 45.6 percent against Ginebra’s 42.7 percent, and had more rebounds, 47-41.

However, the Aces turned the ball over more, 21 against the Gin Kings’ 12, allowing Uichico’s crew to score 19 points off errors and nine second chance points.

Like its sister team, B-Meg Derby Ace set a rubber match with quarterfinal rival Rain or Shine, eking out a 92-78 win behind a suffocating defense and the rousing debut of new import Tony Washam.

Washam, replacement for Clif Brown, sizzled with 29 points highlighted by four triples, to go with 13 boards, two assists and three steals, as the Llamados kept their hopes for a second straight title alive.

With Washam pumping in 15 and RoS limited to a woeful 18.6 percent shooting clip, the Llamados broke the game wide open in the first half, erecting a 39-23 lead from which the Elasto Painters never recovered.