PBA: GlobalPort snaps five-game skid, hurdles Alaska in overtime

The GlobalPort Batang Pier survived in overtime against the Alaska Aces, earning at least a playoff for the final postseason berth, via a 91-88 win, Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in the 2013-14 PLDT MyDSL Philippine Cup.

The two teams entered the game with matching 4-8 records, but it was GlobalPort that moved ahead to 5-8, for solo eighth place, while Alaska slipped to ninth at 4-9.

GlobalPort opened the extra period with five straight markers, though they could have had a more daunting advantage had Jaypee Belencion made more than just one free throw after being fouled on a triple try by Jvee Casio, 87-82. Alaska finally got on board in OT with a Tony Dela Cruz baseline jumper, but it was neutralized by two free throws by Sol Mercado, 2:04 left.

Dela Cruz couldn’t make it two in a row after a timeout, but he made up for it with a steal on Mercado, though he only split the charities after the resulting foul. Both sides missed their next attempts, however Alaska collared an offensive rebound, and that led to a Jvee Casio trey, 89-88, 43 seconds remaining. Off a timeout, Terrence Romeo’s pull-up failed to fall in, and on the other end, Sonny Thoss lost the ball, giving possession back to the Batang Pier, with just 19.8 ticks on the clock.

The Batang Pier whipped the ball around, only for Nico Salva to turn the ball over. RJ Jazul hurriedly threw up a triple, despite having a timeout, and it failed to connect, with Romeo hauling in the rebound, 2.6 seconds left. Alaska was forced to foul Kelly Nabong with 1.4 seconds, and he made both free throws for a three-point lead, 91-88. Mercado then clinched the game with a big-time steal of a cross-court pass.

Kelly Nabong was named Best Player of the Game with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds, plus three assists. The sophomore big man got huge minutes, filling in for Jay Washington, whose right foot was in an immobilizer after tearing his plantar fascia.

The win made it the second time this conference GlobalPort defeated Alaska. They had beaten them 94-84 last December 13, when Sol Mercado exploded for 26 markers.

The Cyrus Baguio-Sonny Thoss combo was online to start the game, as the duo combined for nine to help the Alaska Aces double up on their foes, 14-7. Back-to-back hits later in the period by Terrence Romeo and Eric Menk had the Batang Pier within three, 16-13, but Ryan Buenafe canned a triple to put more distance between the two sides. A Nico Salva basket watered that down slightly though, to make it 19-15 in favor of the Aces after the initial 12 minutes.

Gabby Espinas opened the second quarter with a basket to make it a six-point affair anew, 21-15, but Terrence Romeo scattered five before the half-way point of the period to knot the two teams, 23-all.

Espinas scored anew to have Alaska retake the lead, but it was just temporary, as they suffered a long scoring drought, going without a point for nearly five minutes. GlobalPort barely took advantage though, going up by just five, 30-25, after an RR Garcia triple, before Thoss got the Aces on the scoring board anew. A Baguio trey put Alaska within two, 32-30, but Espinas’ free throw followed a Menk jumper, for a three-point Batang Pier lead, 34-31, entering the break.

Both teams struggled to connect after the first half, with Alaska making just 12-of-39 (30.8 percent) shots, while GlobalPort was 11-of-38 (28.9 percent).

The third quarter was one of runs, with the Batang Pier finding their stroke to start the second half. With Jaypee Belencion connecting on twin hits to start the canto, GlobalPort built a double-digit lead, 48-36, 4:20 in. It took a steal, which the Aces converted into an open layup for Baguio, to get Alaska going, before they went to Casio and Thoss. The small-big pair made it a one-point game, 51-50, with 4:11 to play.

GlobalPort still had one more run in them though. After Baguio kept the distance between the two sides at just one point, Romeo provided six in a 15-3 surge that gave the Batang Pier another big lead, 68-55.

Menk opened the scoring in the final canto and handed GlobalPort their biggest lead of the game at 70-55. However, Alaska didn’t give up, and a 15-2 blast gave them their first lead of the second half, 78-77, 2:38 remaining in the game.

A Sol Mercado triple swung the lead back to GlobalPort, 80-78, but Sonny Thoss equalized on the next trip down, and then after a dry spell for both teams, Jvee Casio drove hard and scored, 82-80, 25 seconds left.

Off a timeout, Romeo got the ball to Nabong, whose crafty drive down the shaded lane resulted in a hang-time move and another deadlock, 82-all, 14 ticks on the clock. Looking for the win, Casio was guarded tightly by Mercado, forcing him to give the ball up in desperation to Tony Dela Cruz, whose heave was off after being heavily contested by Nabong, leading to the overtime period.

Terrence Romeo added 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting in support of Nabong. Mercado had a poor shooting night, going 2-of-13 for 11 points, but he did dish out eight assists. Eric Menk also had a vintage performance with a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds.

Jvee Casio and Sonny Thoss both scored a game-best 21 points, with Casio adding three triples, seven boards, five dimes and three steals, while Thoss hauled in 18 boards, plus five assists and three swats. Cyrus Baguio was not far off with 20 points, four boards and five assists, but he turned it over a team-high five times.

The Aces played sans Calvin Abueva, the reigning Rookie of the Year, who reportedly suffered a sprain during practice.

Alaska had a 13-5 edge in second-chance points, and shot slightly better than their foes, 37.8 percent versus 36.6 percent. However, GlobalPort converted 25-of-30 charities, versus just 14-of-23 for the Aces. - Adrian Dy, GMA News


The scores:

GLOBALPORT 91 - Romeo 18, Nabong 13, Mercado 11, Menk 10, Belencion 9, Salvador 8, Salva 7, Najorda 6, Garcia 5, Hayes 4, Revilla 0, Chua 0

ALASKA 88 - Casio 21, Thoss 21, Baguio 20, Espinas 14, Dela Cruz 7, Buenafe 3, Eman 2, Laure 0, Jazul 0, Hontiveros 0, Ramos 0, Exciminiano 0

Quarter scoring: 15-19, 34-31, 68-55, 82-82, 91-88