PBA: Abueva goes 20-18 as Alaska snaps skid against Meralco

The Meralco Bolts left Mac Baracael open for a go-ahead triple with 1:32 left in the game en route to the Alaska Aces snapping their three-game losing streak, 88-85, on Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.

Calvin Abueva had a monster comeback for the Aces with 20 points and 18 rebounds with key putbacks to keep the Aces in the game. The second overall pick had missed their previous game against Ginebra.

"I thought in this game it was the team that dictated the tempo. Calvin was all over the place. Guys shared the basketball today," said Alaska head coach Luigi Trillo.

Alaska evened their record at 6-6, the same record as Meralco, tying them in the standings in the fifth and sixth positions.

"There are things that we could improve on as a team and this break gave us the opportunity to address some of these issues," said Trillo. The biggest issue resolved in that stretch was their rebounding: the Aces grab 39.9 rebounds on average while letting their opponents get 49.2 In this game, the Aces outrebounded the Bolts 49-41 and 18 of those were care of Abueva.

Surprise starter Mark Borboran scored Merlaco's first four points but Alaska featured a balanced attack to double Meralco's output early in the game. Abueva scored an easy basket at the 7:26 mark of the first for an 8-4 Alaska lead. The Bolts then went on a 7-2 run anchored on Borboran's second three-point basket of the game.

Sol Mercado was called for a flagrant foul penalty 1 on Abueva with 3:25 remaining in the first quarter. The league's leading scorer swung his elbows after collaring a rebound which prompted the referee to make the call. The incident woke up Alaska's offense as RJ Jazul sank back-to-back three-point shots for a 20-17 count in their favor. Reynel Hugnatan sank a jumper at the buzzer to trim the Alaska lead to three, 24-21, at the end of the first quarter.
 
In between the first and second quarters, Commissioner Chito Salud awarded Mac Cardona with a game ball for being the newest member of the PBA's 5000-point club.

Another Borboran basket at the 9:50 mark of the second quarter inched the Bolts closer. The Aces, on the other hand, committed a string of turnovers to yield the momentum to Meralco. Abueva returned in the middle of the second quarter and he quickly made his presence felt by grabbing an offensive rebound and scoring on a jumper at the 5:59 mark for a 32-26 Alaska lead. Baguio punctuated a good second period for the Aces with a difficult turn-around jumper for a 43-34 separation at the half.

The Bolts came out firing after the halftime break. They also tightened up their defense to get back into the game. A two-handed slam dunk from Hodge at the 7:20 mark of the third cut Alaska's lead to a single point.

After an Alaska basket, Mercado finally connected with a triple to tie the game at 52-all. Ross gave the Bolts the lead a few seconds after with a layup, but Abueva kept the Aces in the driver's seat with a couple of put-backs. Ronjay Buenafe however sank a three-ball with four seconds left in the third quarter to tie the game at 64-all. Abueva then committed a turnover which led to two free throws for Hugnatan for a two-point Meralco lead to end the third quarter.

"In the first half, we dominated because we were playing on our tempo," said Trillo. "In the second half, credit to Meralco because they were able to employ their full court press." The Bolts were limited to 34 points in the first two quarters but they exploded for 32 in the third quarter alone.

In the fourth, the two teams exchanged baskets, before Chris Ross and Sol Mercado put Meralco ahead by four, 79-75, with 5:38 remaining. Conversions by Mac Baracael and Abueva tied the game, before Mercado hit a clutch trey at the 4:24 mark to put Meralco up, 82-79.

A Jayvee Casio banked-in three at the 2:13 mark tied the game yet again, before Baracael hit the crucial trey to put Alaska ahead. The long bomb was followed by a Cyrus Baguio drive at the 1:03 mark, 87-82, before Hugnatan converted on an and-one to cut the lead to two, 87-85.

After a Casio split form the line with 9.5 seconds to go, Meralco went for a game-tying three. The attempt bounced off the rim, but Hodge was there to recover. At first, the referees looked like they whistled Abueva for a foul with Hodge preparing to go to the line, but in the end, the call was not made as Alaska escaped with the victory.  - Carlo Pamintuan / Renee Fopalan / AMD, GMA News