ALASKA again rode on its teamwork down the stretch and completed a 3-0 sweep of defending champion Star in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup.
The Aces knocked off the Hotshots, 82-77, in Game Three on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum to make a return trip to the finals this season and 28th overall for the franchise.
Import Romeo Travis hit a crucial three-pointer, while Vic Manuela delivered the dagger with a huge right-side jumper to complete their come-from-behind victory and enter the finals.
Travis had an all-around performance with 19 points, 10 rebounds, seven assists and three blocks, and his three-pointer gave the Aces a 79-77 lead with two minutes remaining.
Manuel added 14 markers, including a huge jumper that iced the game for Alaska, 81-77, with 30.1 ticks left. Cyrus Baguio and rookie Rome de la Rosa each added 11 points for the Aces, who handed their former coach, Tim Cone, one of his ugly losses in a playoff series.
“This series is about the ability of the players to do something new. Something they’ve never done in a game,” said Alaska mentor Alex Compton, who is returning to the finals since losing to San Miguel in the Philippine Cup finals.
“I’m happy we ended it now. I don’t wanna go in a Game Four or Five,” Compton added.
James Yap led Star with 20 points, while Marqus Blakely added 15 points, seven rebounds and six assists, but they missed crucial attempts in the closing minutes.
Meanwhile, Rain or Shine and San Miguel Beer clash anew in the pivotal Game Three of their own best-of-five semifinal series on Monday also at the Big Dome.
The Elasto Painters and the Beermen collide at 7 p.m. with the winner inching closer to the finals to face Alaska in a best-of-seven championship showdown.
Rain or Shine was supposed to be staring a 0-2 deficit entering Monday’s Game Three but the wards of Head Coach Yeng Guiao pulled off a miraculous 113-110 win in Game Two on Jeff Chan’s game-winning triple.
“A team made of lesser stuff would have broken down with the torrid shooting of San Miguel,” said Guiao, whose team survived the 21 three-point shots made by the Beermen, 10 of which came from Marcio Lassiter.
Wendell McKines carried the Elasto Painters in Game Two with a season-high 53 points, while the locals of Rain or Shine struggled with their offensive game.
San Miguel tries to bounce back from a heartbreaking loss and Head Coach Leo Austria hopes his wards have put that game behind them and just focus on the task at hand.