PBA: McKines drops 27 as Alaska outlasts Ginebra

Wendell McKines posted 27 big points as the Alaska Aces scraped past Barangay Ginebra San Miguel, 102-99, on Sunday at the Mall of Asia Arena, in the 2013 PBA Governors Cup.

With the win, the Aces moved over the .500 mark to 2-1, while the loss was Ginebra's second in a row, to drop them to 1-3.

"Nice to see Wendell scratch and claw," said Alaska head coach Luigi Trillo. "Medyo napipikon siya sa defense nina [Willy] Wilson, but he needed to get through them. We were lucky to get this one."

The Aces' import added 16 rebounds and five assists to lead Alaska to victory.

The game was a rematch of their 2013 Commissioner's Cup Finals series, which Alaska swept in three matches.

In the fourth, Jvee Casio split from the line, tying the game with less than five minutes remaining. Ginebra continued to feed Dior Lowhorn at the other end, but it was a Mark Caguioa trey that bumped the Ginebra lead back to five to the delight of the Barangay in attendance. Mac Baracael then added a one-hander for a seven-point Ginebra advantage.

Wendell McKines tried to keep Alaska in the game with an and-one play, 96-92, while a Sonny Thoss put-back cut the lead to two anew, 96-94. Caguioa continued to challenge Abueva, and it paid off as the Spark rung in a pull-up, 98-94.

With the game down to its last two minutes, McKines found Baguio cross-court for a three to cut the lead to one, 98-97. After a Ginebra timeout, Baguio stole the ball, ending in a three-on-one play with Abueva getting a layup for the lead, 99-98.

With 42.1 seconds remaining, Thoss split from the line to extend Alaska's lead to two. After another timeout, Tenorio opted to take it strong, fishing a foul in the process. The Gilas point guard split with 34.7 seconds left, after Alaska head coach Luigi Trillo called for time between his attempts.

After draining time from the clock, Cyrus Baguio fed a streaking McKines for a three-point lead with 11 seconds to go. Ginebra called for time, as coach Ato Agustin tried to come up with a game-tying three-point attempt. Mac Baracael launched an attempt, but his shot sailed long. The ball stayed with Ginebra with 3.5 seconds remaining, but Caguioa missed his three-point try, to give Alaska the win.

Calvin Abueva had his strongest performance of the conference so far with 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting, plus 11 rebounds, five assists and a block. Cyrus Baguio also scored 18 with five board and five dimes, while Gabby Espiinas and Sonny Thoss both chimed in with 12 markers.

The Aces started hot in the first, as Cyrus Baguio and Calvin Abueva took it strong to the hoop, while Jvee Casio did the damage from deep, 12-6. A slam from Lowhorn was canceled out by makes from Abueva, Thoss and Espinas, while Casio scored on a layup to give Alaska a double-digit advantage after one, 24-14.

Ginebra tried to inch closer late in the second, as baskets from Chris Ellis and JJ Helterbrand cut the lead to six, 39-33. Back-to-back hits from Lowhorn finally had the Barangay within three, 43-40, but McKines scored to bump the lead back up to five. A Casio trey, followed by a dish to an open McKines gave the Aces a 50-40 lead after two.