ALASKA guns for the first final seat with a win against GlobalPort in Game Five of their best-of-seven semifinal series of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup on Tuesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
The Aces hold a commanding 3-1 lead in their series and another victory in their 7 p.m. encounter will put the franchise back in the finals against the winner of the San Miguel Beer-Rain or Shine semifinal duel.
Alaska displayed another solid defensive effort in Game Four en route to an impressive 109-84 win, seven players hitting double figures, led by Calvin Abueva’s 20 markers.
“I thought the guys responded really well. It makes me proud to coach this team with their team effort,” said Aces Head Coach Alex Compton, who is trying to make to his third finals trip in the last four conferences.
“I hope we can finish it on Game Five, but we don’t underestimate them,” the Tagalog-speaking American mentor added.
Since shocking top seed Alaska in Game One with a 107-93 win behind Terrence Romeo’s 41 points, the Batang Pier have not displayed the kind of energy they showed in the series opener to lose the next three games.
Romeo and Stanley Pringle have been producing consistently for Head Coach Pido Jarencio, but GlobalPort needs the others to step up not only on offense but also on defense.
“Nobody can stop Pringle and Romeo one on one. We need a lot of guys to defend them,” Compton said.
A win by the Aces would put them back in the Philippine Cup finals. Compton and Alaska lost to the Beermen in the championship series that went to full distance.