ANTIPOLO - The Alaska Milk Aces came out slugging, swinging and fighting as the playoff top-seeds that they are, and dealt the Magnolia Hotshots a solid blow, 100-71, in Game Three of their PBA Governors Cup title showdown at the Ynares Sports Center here Sunday night.
Brandishing a torrid shooting and a clampdown defense, the Aces ripped the Hotshots apart to trim down to 1-2 their deficit in the best-of-seven series.
"I think we had a great defensive effort and amazing shots. The overall story of the game was that we made a bunch of shots in the first three quarters. We didn't commit much turnovers and we played defense with great intensity," said Alaska coach Alex Compton.
The Aces pounded and pummeled the Hotshots hard in the first three quarters and went on to hand Magnolia its worst defeat in PBA finals.
It was the Purefoods-SanMig franchise's worst defeat since a loss by 28 also against Alaska in Game Five of the 1997 Governors Cup finals.
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Compton, however, played down the impact of the 29-point blowout.
"If you would ask me to choose winning by this score or being up 2-1, of course I'd choose being 2-1 up. I'm glad that we won, but we're still down at this point," Compton said.
And Compton now braces for Magnolia's own fightback in the next game. "I expect Game Four to be like Game Two," he said.
Facing the possibility of falling in a deep, deep 0-3 hole, the Hotshots fought with great resolve and led by as many as 36.
They led by 33, at 83-50, through the third, reducing the final canto to a showdown among the reserves.
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Mike Harris sat out most of the fourth quarter after having tucked in a wondrous game marked by game-highs of 36 points and 18 rebounds.
Then there were the unlikely great contributions of reserves Carl Bryan Cruz and Jake Pascual.
"Jake and Carl were fantastic," said Compton.
Magnolia coach Chito Victolero admitted they're not able to keep up with Alaska in this game, but rued Compton getting the attention of the referees for his rants after Game Two.
"Nakuha nya yung atensyon ng referees, nakuha nila yung mga tawag na referees. Ako naman ang hihingi ng atensyon nila. Pero ang gusto ko lang consistency on calls. Kung ano ang tawag sa isa, yun din ang tawag sa kabila," said Victolero.
Lackadaisical in the first two games, Harris came out as an aggressive warrior in this match, taking the fight out of the Hotshots on his 22-point explosion in the third quarter spiked by a rare four-point play off Romeo Travis that made it 70-49.
Simon Enciso erupted for 3-of-4 three-pointers as he showed the way in Alaska's strong second-quarter charge that had the Aces leading by 17 at 50-33 before closing the half at 50-36.
One big defensive stop after another also highlighted the Aces' romp in the second period where they whipped the Hotshots, 11-2, on points off turnovers.
Through the first half, Alaska beat Magnolia, 16-3, on points from enemy errors.
The two teams fought through eight lead changes before the Aces seized control. (SB)
The scores:
ALASKA 100 - Harris 36, Manuel 14, Enciso 12, Cruz 10, Banchero 6, J. Pascual 4, Teng 4, Galliguez 4, Casio 4, Andrada 2, Baclao 2, Racal 2, Exciminiano 0, Magat 0, Potts 0.
MAGNOLIA 71 - Travis 18, Barroca 13, Herndon 7, Sangalang 7, Mendoza 6, Dela Rosa 5, Abundo 4, Reavis 3, Lee 2, Ramos 2, Melton 2, Jalalon 2, Simon 0, Gamalinda 0, Brondial 0, K. Pascual 0.
Quarterscores: 16-22, 50-36, 83-50, 100-71.
