Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The last time the Alaska Aces and the San Miguel Beermen met in a Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) finals, the Beermen swept the Aces.
This time around, the Aces look poised to return the favor.
The Alaska Aces took home Game 3 of their best-of-seven series against the San Miguel Beermen, 82-75, in the finals of the PBA Philippine Cup on Friday (January 22) at the Quezon Convention Center in Lucena.
Big man Vic Manuel paced the Aces once again after chipping in 17 markers and seven boards.
The Beermen bucked a slow start in the first period, as they overturned an early 4-16 deficit to finish the half with a 41-31 advantage.
Alaska fought back and trimmed the lead down to 60-57 in the fourth quarter when things took a turn for the worse for the defending champions.
Jay-R Reyes was given his marching orders after being penalized for a flagrant 2, after an errant elbow found its way to Manuel’s head with 9:32 left in the final period.
The two teams traded possession of the lead in the final stretch of the game, with Alaska claiming a slim 74-73 advantage in the last two minutes.
Back-to-back buckets from RJ Jazul and a defensive stop in between, finally gave the Aces some breathing room, 78-75, with 45.6 seconds left to play.
An errant Arwind Santos trey in the succeeding possession forced the Beermen to foul Sonny Thoss, who duly converted both charities to lead 80-75 with 35 ticks left to play.
Another missed three point attempt from the Beermen sealed their fate, as the Aces’ JVee Casio slotted in a couple more free throws put the game beyond doubt.
Despite being on the cusp of a sweep, Alaska’s Vic Manuel says that they refuse to think that they will be crowned champions after Game 4.
“Hindi pa rin, hindi pa rin kami naniniwala,” said Manuel. “Pero pagtratrabahuan pa rin namin yan.”
[Translation: “Not yet, we don’t believe that yet,” said Manuel. “But we will work hard for it.”]
The ejected Jay-R Reyes led San Miguel with 13 points and seven rebounds.
The Alaska Aces will get a chance to sweep the San Miguel Beermen in Game 4 on Sunday (January 24) at the PhilSports Arena.
