PUREFOODS survived the uprising of Alaska late in the game and hacked out a thrilling 96-89 win in Game Two to sweep their quarterfinal series in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup on Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Marc Pingris had a crucial basket down the stretch and the Hotshots made a couple of defensive stops and hit crucial free throws in the closing minutes to shut down the bid of the Aces and enter the best-of-five semifinal series against Talk ‘N Text.
Denzel Bowles once against was steady for Purefoods with 32 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks, but the defending champions needed Pingris’s huge basket as Alaska threatened to steal the game.
“It certainly got scary in the end. Rain or Shine says they had the roughest battle. I say we had the roughest battle in Alaska,” Hotshots Head Coach Time Cone said.
“They kept coming back on us. Calvin [Abueva] was all over the floor and it was hard to stop their momentum. They keep on going. I can’t tell you how glad we are finishing this series with Alaska,” he added.
Joe Devance added 16 points for Purefoods, while Mark Barroca and James Yap netted 14 and 11 markers, respectively.
Just like in their 120-86 blowout win in Game One, the Hotshots appeared on tearing Alaska apart again after dominating the Aces in the third period, 24-12, for a 70-55 lead entering the final quarter.
They maintained the 15-point spread, 88-73, before Damian James anchored Alaska’s 11-0 run to trim the lead to 84-88 with 2:13 remaining.
Pingris ended the drought with an undergoal stab, 90-84, 1:17 left.
Purefoods forced the Aces to miss their next three attempts, while Alex Mallari and Mark Barroca converted their free-throw attempts to eliminate Alaska in the series via sweep.
Rj Jazul led the Aces with 22 points, while James added 21 markers and 11 boards. Abueva also posted a double-double game with 14 and 11.
Meanwhile, the PBA suspended the referee who missed the 24-second shotclock violation late in the game of Ginebra and Rain or Shine last Saturday.
Image credits: Kevin De La Cruz