The Alaska Aces escaped with a 103-101 victory against the Blackwater Elite, Wednesday night at the Mall of Asia Arena to pick up their second straight win of the 2019 Honda PBA Philippine Cup.
It was a tight battle in the end game between the Aces and Elite with the veterans leading the attack in the dying seconds. Allein Maliksi starred for Blackwater with a triple at the 1:18 mark to give his side a 100-99 lead. However, Chris Banchero and Sonny Thoss came up with back-to-back baskets for Alaska to swing the tide to their favor, 103-100.
Roi Sumang was then tested on the line but he only managed a split to cut their deficit down to two. Blackwater's defense forced a miss from Alaska but Maliksi lost grip of the ball on the rebound, allowing the Aces to keep possession with 3.7 seconds remaining in the match.
Thoss put up a corner jumper as soon as he received the ball to prevent Blackwater from committing a foul and the clock ran out with the two teams still scrambling for the loose ball.
Veteran center Thoss was picked as the Best Player of the Game with 16 points and five rebounds on 8 of 16 shooting from the field.
"The value of Sonny for us is beyond points," said Alaska head coach Alex Compton. "For most of us coaches, it's not about points but about players doing things the right way. For Sonny, he does everything well for us even if he doesn't score a lot."
Alaska had five players in double digits against Blackwater with Jeron Teng and Carl Bryan Cruz leading them with 18 points apiece. Banchero added 11 while Chris Exciminiano chipped in 14 points off the bench.
Both teams showed their hunger to pick up their second win of the Philippine Cup as they flashed their fiery offense in the opening quarter. Both squads scored well with the Aces leading by six points, 29-23, heading into the final 32 seconds. However, Blackwater rallied with a basket from Mac Belo and a buzzer-beating triple near mid-court from Gelo Alolino to climb within one, 29-28.
The Aces led by as many as 10 points, 46-36, after a triple from Carl Bryan Cruz. However, Blackwater went on an 8-0 run in the closing minutes of the first half to trim their deficit down to a single point, 49-48.
Sumang led all scorers at the half as the scorched hot with 13 points on 5 of 7 shooting from the field. For Alaska, it was Exciminiano who powered their offense with 10 points off the bench in the first half.
The Aces did not waste any time rebuilding their double-digit lead in the third period as five straight points from Teng were quickly followed by a triple from Banchero and a basket from Exciminiano for a 63-50 advantage, their biggest lead of the game. Blackwater then relied on their three-point shooting to keep them within striking distance with Maliksi and DiGregorio leading their attack.
The Elite were just down by three, 75-72, heading into the final quarter.
It did not take long before Blackwater wrested the upper-hand from Alaska as a triple from Mac Belo gave them a 77-75 lead but Cruz led a fightback for the Aces as they went on an 11-2 run, 86-79.
The Elite got another taste of the lead, 93-92, with 3:41 remaining in the game as Maliksi knocked down a triple. They stretched this lead 97-94 but Exciminiano and Cruz came up with big baskets to retake the lead for the Aces, 97-96, with only 1:26 remaining.
Maliksi led the Elite with 25 points while Sumang scored 18 markers. DiGregorio was the only other double-digit scorer for Blackwater with 13.
THE SCORES
Alaska 103 - Teng 18, Cruz 18, Thoss 16, Exciminiano 14, Banchero 11, Ayaay 9, Pascual 8, Galliguez 7, Potts 2, Baclao 0.
Blackwater 101 - Maliksi 25, Sumang 18, Digregorio 14, Jose 9, Tratter 7, Belo 7, Sena 6, Cortez 6, Desiderio 4, Alolino 3, Eriobu 2, Javier 0, Banal 0.
Quarters: 29-28, 49-48, 75-72, 103-101.
EXTRA DRIBBLES
Alaska head coach Alex Compton was called for a technical foul late in the second period as he crossed the half-court line while vehemently complaining a no-call on contact between Sumang and Teng, who was about to take a shot.
Teng and Maliksi were also assessed technical fouls for verbal altercation in the second quarter.
It was a huge bounce-back game from Maliksi who failed to score a single point in their last game against Ginebra.
NEXT GAMES
Blackwater vs Columbian Dyip on March 1 at the Mall of Asia Arena
Alaska vs Phoenix Pulse Fuel Masters on March 1 at the Mall of Asia Arena