PBA: Alaska Aces axe San Mig Coffee Mixers, troop to the finals

The Alaska Aces ended their semifinals series against the San Mig Coffee Mixers in game four, with a 83-78 victory on Saturday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. Thanks to the win, the Aces now await which team emerges from the Talk 'N Text versus Ginebra winner-take-all battle tomorrow, to determine their challenger in the 2013 Commissioner's Cup Final.

San Mig Coffee had taken game one of the best-of-five series, 71-69, but the Aces went on to sweep the next three games, 86-67, 89-82, and this game, resulting in the first three times the franchise has triumphed against former head coach Tim Cone.

"Great win for us. This series is about defense," said Alaska mentor Luigi Trillo. "We were a bit tight over-extending on our defense. In the second half, we settled on our defense; we dictated the tempo."

The Mixers had to play without main man James Yap, whose lingering back troubles rendered him unavailable for this game.

With 2:04 remaining and only a point separating the two teams, Rob Dozier hit a three with a second left on the shot clock to put the Aces ahead by four. On the other end, Denzel Bowles fished Sonny Thoss' final foul, leading to two more points from the line. Joe Devance then turned the ball over, leading to a Dozier basket with a little over a minute remaining, 82-78.

After a Tim Cone timeout with less than a minute remaining, San Mig went to Bowles, but he missed his baseline jumper. The Mixers could not convert, as a jump-ball was won by Abueva.

With 9.9 seconds remaining, San Mig sent Abueva to the line where the rookie split his free throws, 83-78. The Aces' perimeter defense held up to prevent a three-point attempt from San Mig, as Joe Davance's late trey bounced off the back rim.

The two teams battled through several deadlocks in the opening minutes, before Mark Barroca created some space with back-to-back threes, 23-21. After a split from Rafi Reavis, Alaska canned three free throws in the final minute of the first period to edge ahead by one, 25-24.

Cyrus Baguio and Jayvee Casio led Alaska to start the second quarter, erecting a 30-24 lead at the 10:25 mark. Simon hit a three at the other end off an Alex Mallari drive, while Leo Najorda added two more to cut the lead to one, 30-29.
 
Casio and Thoss converted on consecutive shots, but Simon led San Mig in a 19-0 rally to end the half. The Coffee Mixers enjoyed a 48-34 advantage after two, with all five players on the floor contributing to build the 14-point lead.


Baguio started the third with a triple, before Bowles connected on two straight hits. In the process, San Mig was able to fish for Casio's fourth and Baguio's third fouls, as Alaska opted to play their key players despite the foul trouble.

A Casio drive was followed by a Thoss hook shot, cutting San Mig's lead to 11, 52-41, with 7:01 in the clock. After four more from Baguio and Thoss, Devance and Dela Cruz traded baskets as San Mig continued to enjoy an eight-point advantage.

Five more from Baguio and Thoss gave way to an Alex Mallari trey on his second try, but Casio took it right back 20 seconds after. The period ended with a split by Bowles, giving SMA a 64-60 lead heading into the fourth.

Cyrus Baguio led the charge for Alaska, compiling 16 points on 5-of-11 shooting, along with three rebounds, an assist and a steal. Jvee Casio was just 2-of-9 from downtown, but finished with 15 points, while rookie Calvin Abueva scored 12 of his 14 points in the final canto. The second overall pick in the 2012 draft also hauled in eight rebinds.

Import Rob Dozier was shackled and produced only six points, but he pulled down 14 rebounds in addition to three assists and three blocks.

Denzel Bowles produced a monstrous double-double of 23 points and 22 rebounds in the loss. Joe Devance added 18 points, six rebounds and four assists, while Mark Barroca fired in 14 points, five boards and seven dimes.

San Mig Coffee actually bested their foes in a lot of categories, including three-point shooting (34.8 percent versus 29.6 percent), free throw attempts (31-24), and rebounds (51-42). However, Alaska allowed just 37.5 percent shooting, while converting 40.3 percent of their own attempts. The Aces also forced 19 rebounds, six more than their own number of miscues. - Renee Avena Fopalan / AMD, GMA News