PBA: Alaska survives late Air21 rally, moves on to semifinal round

(Updated 8:28pm) After leading by as much as 17 points, the Alaska Aces needed to fight off a gallant Air21 Express squad hellbent on coming back. Ultimately though, the Aces emerged triumphant, 87-81, Saturday at the SM MOA Arena. The top-seeded Aces, who held a twice-to-beat advantage in this quarterfinals series, moved on to the semis, and will face the winner of the San Mig Coffee Mixers versus Meralco Bolts best-of-three series, with the latter up by a win. Leading by a comfortable margin late in the fourth quarter, the Aces almost collapsed in the endgame as they turned the ball over multiple times which allowed Mike Cortez and Mark Isip to form a vicious tag-team duo, cutting their deficit down to two points, 80-78, with 2:28 still in the game. Off a missed triple by Dondon Hontiveros, with import Robert Dozier hauling in the offensive rebound, Sonny Thoss calmly sank a long jumper to douse water on the scoring Air21 rally. Jvee Casio then sank a dagger three-point shot, making it 85-78 with 1:16 left, and killing any possibility of a come from behind win for the Express. Alaska again showed their tremendous teamwork as more than six Aces scored 12 points or more. Rob Dozier only had 17 points but he dominated the glass with 22 rebounds. Jvee Casio was named the best player of the game with 19 points and five assists. He shot 4-of-9 from three-point range including the dagger triple that effectively eliminated the Air21 Express. "Nag-stick lang kami sa gameplan," Casio said after the game. "Maganda yung mga screens na nabigay sa akin kaya nakatira ako." The Alaska Aces started the game by displaying their defensive tenacity. Three Aces ganged up on KG Canaleta for a steal, which turned into two points via a Tony Dela Cruz jump hook. Canaleta fumbled the ball again on Air21's next possession, but he was able to regain control of the ball just in time to launch a long three-point shot, just as the shot clock expired for a 3-2 Air21 lead. JVee Casio quickly took it right back with his own three while Cyrus Baguio added a triple of his own for an 8-3 Alaska advantage. A coast-to-coast lay-up at the 3:08 mark from Calvin Abueva put the Aces up 20-13, but he failed to stop Ogie Menor on the other end of the court. The Express were able to bring the Alaska lead down to three points but a dunk from Rob Dozier bumped it back up to 22-17. Dozier then added another dunk to further pad their lead. After Sonny Thoss and Bonbon Custodio exchanged mid-range jumpers, RJ Jazul finished the first quarter with two free throws, to keep Alaska on top, 28-21. Four straight points from Baguio to start the second quarter gave Alaska their first double-digit lead of the game at 32-21 which prompted Air21 head coach Franz Pumaren to call a timeout, still 10:21 remaining. A triple from Casio and a put-back by Dozier at the 7:17 mark of the second gave the Aces a 37-23 advantage. A reverse three-point play from Abueva to end the first half made it, 46-29, as the second overall pick in this season's draft led his side with seven points and four rebounds. A three-point basket from Wynne Arboleda was able to trim the Alaska lead down to 13 at 51-38 and Canaleta brought it down further to just 11 points at the 8:25 mark of the third. A short jumper from Mark Isip continued to chip away at Alaska's lead, bringing it down to a single digit, 51-42. A three-point play from Mike Cortez and another short jumper from Isip at the 3:37 point of the third got the Express to within six points of the foes, 58-52. The Express kept making baskets but they also kept fouling Casio, to allow the Aces to score from the free throw line. Alaska finally scored from the field thanks to a Dozier lay-up. The Memphis Tiger then added a fast break dunk to give Alaska a 67-58 advantage. Bonbon Custodio had the last word in the third though, making a short jumper for a 67-60 tally, still in favor of the Aces, heading into the final quarter. Air21 started the quarter in a good way as Nonoy Baclao scored on a jumper to cut the Alaska lead down to five but Dondon Hontiveros sank a jumper of his own to rebuild Alaska's seven-point lead at 69-62. A mid-range jumper from Dunigan got the Express to within four points, 72-68, but Dozier cleaned up after an Abueva miss. The Alaska import then added a free throw for a 75-68 tally in their favor with 7:50 left in the game. The Express kept turning the ball over which resulted in a Casio trey and an Abueva fast break lay-up, which restored Alaska's  double-digit lead, 80-69, with only 4:48 on the clock. Twin triples from 'The Cool Cat' made it a six-point affair, 80-74. Then two turnovers from the Aces resulted in two Isip jumpers, for just a two-point game, 80-78. Alaska however stayed calm and punched back via Thoss and Casio, to punch their ticket to the next round. Calvin Abueva added 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting, along with seven rebounds and a block, while Alaska mainstays Sonny Thoss and Cyrus Baguio contributed 12 apiece. "We set up each other, we play for each other," Casio said after the game, commenting on his side's team play.   KG Canaleta scored 16 points but he needed 22 attempts, including a woeful 2-of-11 performance from downtown. Mike Dunigan managed 13 points, 11 rebounds and seven dimes, while Mike Cortez accountd for 11 markers and five assists. Air21 lost desite shooting 46.5 percent from the field, versus Alaska's 40.8 percent clip. The Aces compensated by ruling the glass, 56-37, which resuted in a 22-14 edge in second-chance points. Asked if he wanted to face the Meralco Bolts or the San Mig Coffee Mixers, Casio declined to name a specific side, instead saying, "Wala, basta kami laban lang. We'll play our game kahit sino yung kalaban namin." - AMD, GMA News The scores: ALASKA 87 - Casio 19, Dozier 17, Abueva 14, Thoss 12, Baguio 12, Jazul 8, Hontiveros 3, Dela Cruz 2, Reyes 0, Espinas 0. AIR 21 81 - Canaleta 16, Dunigan 13, Cortez 11, Omolon 9, Custodio 8, Isip 8, Arboleda 8, Baclao 4, Menor 4, Atkins 0, Wilson 0, Ritualo 0. Quarter scoring: 28-21, 46-29, 67-60, 87-81