PBA: David hits dagger three to lift Globalport past Alaska

GlobalPort Batang Pier defeated the debuting Alaska Aces 91-88, Friday at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum, as Gary David swished a three-point basket from a Sol Mercado hand-off, to give his team their second victory in three games.

Import Markeith Cummings led Batang Pier with 28 points and nine rebounds, while Miller, who was named Best Player of the Game, added 14 points. However, the game's hero was Gilas Pilipinas gunner David, as he scored the go-ahead basket for GlobalPort.

“Even when Alaska was leading, we stayed together,” Batang Pier head coach Junel Baculi said after the game. “There were lapses from Sol Mercado, but he understood the last play, that’s why he gave the hand-off to Gary for the winning basket.”

With the game tied at 88-all, Gary David tried to give his team the lead but his shots refused to fall in.

Still, with 29 seconds left in the game, GlobalPort head coach Junel Baculi drew up a play for David, even though he had missed his last two shots. David broke free and sank a big triple to give GlobalPort a 91-88 lead. Alaska had the chance to tie the ball game as they regained possession with nine seconds left in the game, but all they came up with was a hurried triple try from Jvee Casio, to give GlobalPort the victory.

With the win, GlobalPort matched their start from last conference. However, their team in the 2013 Commissioner’s Cup failed to get another win after that point. “That’s a different team. We have seven new players and a new import who understands Philippine basketball,” Baculi said. “Hopefully we can advance to the playoffs.”

Alaska had been set to play Wednesday, but that match was rescheduled due to heavy rain and flooding. The 2013 Commissioner's Cup champs were the last team to start the current conference.

A triple from Jvee Casio at the 4:57 mark of the first gave the Aces a 17-10 advantage. Another triple, this time from Dondon Hontiveros, then gave Alaska their first double-digit lead of the game at 22-12.

Two free throws from Marvin Hayes and a trey from Willie Miller halved the Alaska lead at 24-19 with only 31 seconds left in the first, but a basket from Aces import Wendell McKines settled the score at 26-19, heading into the second quarter.

Rudy Lingganay got the Batang Pier to within a basket at 30-28, but a make from Aldrech Ramos and an alley-oop layup from Cyrus Baguio stretched the Alaska lead to 36-28 with 7:16 left in the second quarter.

The Aces dominated the paint with Sonny Thoss and Calvin Abueva scoring down low, but GlobalPort managed to keep the game close with triples from Miller and Jay Washington.

Alaska tried to pull away late in the second as Baguio scored on a layup, followed by a dunk from McKines for a 45-39 count in their favor with 1:31 left in the half. But GlobalPort made a late run led by Gary David, to cut their deficit down to a single point at 45-44, after two periods.

GlobalPort import Markeith Cummings led all scorers with 11 in the first 24 minutes of action, while Miller added 10 for the Batang Pier. Alaska, on the other hand, was led by Baguio, who also had 10 points, and McKines' nine markers.

The Aces struggled from the free throw line at the half as they only made 3-of-10 attempts. They held on to the lead because they had three more rebounds and shot better from the field.


A triple from Washington at the 9:41 mark of the third gave GlobalPort a 52-50 advantage. Cummings then doubled their lead with a put-back. Not finished in the least, Cummings posterized Calvin Abueva with a one-handed dunk to give GlobalPort a 56-52 lead, but Thoss and McKines tag-teamed to knot the ball game at 56-all with 5:30 left in the third.

Cummings continued to carry the offense for his team. He scored on a layup and two free throws at the 2:20 mark to give Batang Pier a 65-60 advantage. However, his Alaska counterpart stepped up late in the third, scoring three straight baskets inside to give the Aces a 68-66 lead. Still, the two teams entered the fourth period with a tie, thanks to a  Kelly Nabong basket, 68-all.

Casio and Sol Mercado exchanged triples early in the fourth quarter to maintain their deadlock, 73-all. Two free throws from Chad Alonzo at the 8:51 mark then gave GlobalPort the lead, but Thoss quickly tied the game again on the other end.

Another Wasington triple gave Batang Pier a 78-77 lead, but Mercado fouled Casio on the next possession. The guard made all three free throws for an 80-78 count in their favor with 5:59 left in the game. Thoss added another free throw to stretch their lead to three, only for Cummings to forget yet another deadlock at 81-all, via a triple.

Two McKines baskets sandwiched a David triple for a one-point Alaska lead, but Miller nailed a layup to retake the lead for GlobalPort. He added a finger roll at the 1:54 mark to make it 88-85, but a straightaway triple from Baguio forced the 11th tie at 88-all with 1:11 left in the game. Both teams came up empty in their following possessions, which led to a GlobalPort possession with only 29 seconds remaining.

“It’s our third game and it is Alaska’s first game so they were a little rusty,” Baculi shared. Alaska’s rust showed specially from the free throw area as they only converted 14-of-30 tries for a 46.7 percentshooting clip. GlobalPort, on the other hand, sank 81.8 percent of their 22 free throws.

Alaska’s import matched Cummings with 28 points. McKines even grabbed more rebounds with 13, nine of those from the offensive glass. However, he only made four of his ten free throw attempts. Thoss added 16 points for Alaska, while Baguio chipped in 13.

The Aces dominated the game inside but their usually reliable shooters mostly shot blanks. Alaska was 4-of-18 from three, while GlobalPort made 11-of-25 attempts from the same area. - RAF, GMA News


The scores:

GlobalPort 91 - Cummings 28, Miller 14, Washington 11, David 10, Mercado 9, Hayes 5, Nabong 4, Lingganay 4, Yee 4, Alonzo 2, Faundo 0

Alaska 88 - McKines 28, Thoss 16, Baguio 13, Casio 11, Abueva 7, Espinas 6, Hontiveros 3, Ramos 2, Dela Cruz 2, Jazul 0

Quarter scoring: 19-26, 44-45, 68-68, 91-88