(From PBA)
The rematch of the Aces in the PBA Fiesta Conference elimination round went down with LA Tenorio laying down the biggest hand in the end.
Tenorio came through with a personal conference best of 26 points, including a huge four-point binge inside the last 2.5 seconds of overtime as the Alaska Milk Aces survived the B-MEG Derby Ace Llamados, 99-97, in a gripping battle at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium Friday night.
The peppery point guard and forward Joe De Vance took charge with import Diamon Simpson fouling out with 3:02 left to play, saving Alaska from what could have been a sorry loss in the contest.
James Yap, playing off-the-bench for the second straight game due to a bruised knee, knocked in a triple with 18 seconds left in regulation play paving the way for overtime.
The Aces blew a chance to win it in regulation on misses by Tenorio and Simpson in the dying seconds.
But Tenorio himself saved the day for his team, enabling the Aces to repeat over the Llamados and force a standoff between themselves at fourth place with identical 7-5 win-loss records.
The Aces were teetering on the brink when Tenorio banged away a three-pointer giving Alaska a 98-97 edge with 2.5 ticks left.
The Llamados then themselves sealed their fate as KG Canaleta committed a grievous error on the inbounds after a timeout.
Fouled right away, Tenorio coolly sank the front-end of his free throws then deliberately missed the second one as Alaska bounced back from a loss to Barangay Ginebra on a road game in Cebu Saturday.
“What a game! It’s hard to describe. It can’t get more exciting than that,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone after the game.
“It’s a battle between two Aces and we’re fighting tooth and nail. They didn’t back down and we didn’t back down. We just squeezed through,” Cone added.
Yap went 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and 2-of-2 from the stripe as he led a charge that got the Llamados to within five, 39-44, at halftime.
The Aces jumped the gun on the Llamados, building a 31-15 lead in the opening quarter.
Cliff Brown stepped up in the third quarter, firing 16 points as the Llamados drew level at 68-all.
Both teams went silent in a long stretch before Reynel Hugnatan scored on a semi-hook off Don Allado breaking the deadlock with almost four minutes gone in the final period.
The Aces and the Llamados engaged in a fierce battle to the finish with Simpson, Tenorio and Devance delivering the goods for Alaska and Brown and Yap starring for Derby Ace.
Simpson put in 29 points and 18 rebounds before heading to the showers ahead of the rest.
Tenorio also made six assists, five rebounds and two steals aside from 26 points while De Vance added 13 points and three rebounds.
Brown was in a zone, sizzling with 34 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Yap, despite his injury, scattered 22 points on top of four rebounds and three assists. (SB)
The scores:
Alaska 99 - Simpson 29, Tenorio 26, De Vance 13, Baguio 13, Dela CRuz 6, Thoss 5, Hugnatan 4, Cablay 3, Eman 0, Fonacier 0.
B-Meg Derby Ace 97 - Brown 34, J. Yap 22, Allado 11, Yap R. 10, Canaleta 7, Pingris 7, Artadi 3, Simon 3, Timberlake 0, Maierhofer 0, Salvador 0, Reavis 0.
Quarters: 31-15, 44-39, 68-68, 87-87, 99-97
The rematch of the Aces in the PBA Fiesta Conference elimination round went down with LA Tenorio laying down the biggest hand in the end.
Tenorio came through with a personal conference best of 26 points, including a huge four-point binge inside the last 2.5 seconds of overtime as the Alaska Milk Aces survived the B-MEG Derby Ace Llamados, 99-97, in a gripping battle at the Ninoy Aquino Stadium Friday night.
The peppery point guard and forward Joe De Vance took charge with import Diamon Simpson fouling out with 3:02 left to play, saving Alaska from what could have been a sorry loss in the contest.
James Yap, playing off-the-bench for the second straight game due to a bruised knee, knocked in a triple with 18 seconds left in regulation play paving the way for overtime.
The Aces blew a chance to win it in regulation on misses by Tenorio and Simpson in the dying seconds.
But Tenorio himself saved the day for his team, enabling the Aces to repeat over the Llamados and force a standoff between themselves at fourth place with identical 7-5 win-loss records.
The Aces were teetering on the brink when Tenorio banged away a three-pointer giving Alaska a 98-97 edge with 2.5 ticks left.
The Llamados then themselves sealed their fate as KG Canaleta committed a grievous error on the inbounds after a timeout.
Fouled right away, Tenorio coolly sank the front-end of his free throws then deliberately missed the second one as Alaska bounced back from a loss to Barangay Ginebra on a road game in Cebu Saturday.
“What a game! It’s hard to describe. It can’t get more exciting than that,” said Alaska coach Tim Cone after the game.
“It’s a battle between two Aces and we’re fighting tooth and nail. They didn’t back down and we didn’t back down. We just squeezed through,” Cone added.
Yap went 2-of-3 from beyond the arc and 2-of-2 from the stripe as he led a charge that got the Llamados to within five, 39-44, at halftime.
The Aces jumped the gun on the Llamados, building a 31-15 lead in the opening quarter.
Cliff Brown stepped up in the third quarter, firing 16 points as the Llamados drew level at 68-all.
Both teams went silent in a long stretch before Reynel Hugnatan scored on a semi-hook off Don Allado breaking the deadlock with almost four minutes gone in the final period.
The Aces and the Llamados engaged in a fierce battle to the finish with Simpson, Tenorio and Devance delivering the goods for Alaska and Brown and Yap starring for Derby Ace.
Simpson put in 29 points and 18 rebounds before heading to the showers ahead of the rest.
Tenorio also made six assists, five rebounds and two steals aside from 26 points while De Vance added 13 points and three rebounds.
Brown was in a zone, sizzling with 34 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and two steals. Yap, despite his injury, scattered 22 points on top of four rebounds and three assists. (SB)
The scores:
Alaska 99 - Simpson 29, Tenorio 26, De Vance 13, Baguio 13, Dela CRuz 6, Thoss 5, Hugnatan 4, Cablay 3, Eman 0, Fonacier 0.
B-Meg Derby Ace 97 - Brown 34, J. Yap 22, Allado 11, Yap R. 10, Canaleta 7, Pingris 7, Artadi 3, Simon 3, Timberlake 0, Maierhofer 0, Salvador 0, Reavis 0.
Quarters: 31-15, 44-39, 68-68, 87-87, 99-97
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