Alaska outsteadies Barako 77-73 to remain unbeaten

Alaska survived another close contest last night and remained unbeaten, while Barangay Ginebra still couldn’t get anything from its import in another game and saw its woes extend.
The Aces got the goods from their core in the waning minutes and nipped Barako Bull in a battle of PBA Commissioner’s Cup leaders, 77-73 as Alaska extended its winning streak to three outings at the Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
Robert Dozier, Cyrus Baguio and Calvin Abueva again delivered in the crunch as the Aces survived the loss of a 17-point first half lead and rallied from six points down in the fourth period to deal the Energy their first loss in three games.
The trio scored six unanswered points that wiped out a 69-70 deficit and the Alaska defense held like glue and shut down the usual big contributors of the Energy, with Barako Bull import Evan Brock held to just 12 points.
“We needed to sacrifice our individual stats to make it a defensive game,” Alaska coach Luigi Trillo said. “We’re lucky being in the lead this early.”
It was the third straight close victory for the Aces, who nipped Rain or Shine by two and Meralco by four in their first two outings.
Baguio, meanwhile, also struggled, but had a crucial steal off Jonas Villanueva that resulted in a coast-to-coast drive for a 73-70 lead.
“Cy (Baguio) had a little bit of struggle at the start, but he busted out of it,” Trillo said of Baguio, the hero in an 83-81 win over Rain or Shine last week. “He’s had a big play in all three of our wins.”
And so does Abueva.
Abueva was hobbled by foul trouble all game and played just 13 minutes. But the former San Sebastian Stag in the NCAA hit his only field goal with 1:38 remaining which gave the Aces a 75-70 lead.
Also against Rain or Shine, Abueva had a running three-pointer late in the game that tied matters up against the Elasto Painters before blocking an undergoal attempt by 7-foot-3 import Bruno Sundov that led to Baguio’s basket.
Petron Blaze is another squad enjoying a run, ripping the Gin Kings later in the night, 105-90, behind an awesome dunking exhibition by import Renaldo Balkman and a balanced local support.
Balkman connected on all sorts of jams in the second half, shooting 17 points in the third period and finishing with 34 as the Boosters built leads of as many as 23 points before coasting along the rest of the way.
“The team talked about consistency, that was our problem in the last conference,” said Petron coach Olsen Racela. “We want to come out with a lot of energy and intensity every game.
“It’s still a long way to go, a long process for us,” Racela continued. “We’re building confidence because of the wins, but the time you can test this team is when adversity comes. And there is adversity every conference.”
Balkman ran amuck in the third period, giving the Boosters their first 20-point lead, 68-48 with 6:56 remaining with a two-handed jam. He was recalled to the bench for a brief rest with 1:19 left with Petron ahead by 21
Petron would even take a 23-point lead early in the fourth and exerted just enough effort in thwarting the last of Ginebra’s token rallies that had the Kings coming with 82-95 after three straight Mark Caguioa baskets with 5:20 left.
But that was all the he wrote for the Kings as Denok Miranda connected on a floating jumper off the glass that restored order for the Boosters, who got four players scoring at least 11 points.
Caguioa led the Kings with 24 points and import Herbert Hill finished with just 16 points in his farewell outing with Ginebra to be reinforced by NBA veteran Vernon Macklin starting next week.