Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The Alaska Aces completed a come-from-behind win against the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, 94-89, on Wednesday night at the Cuneta Astrodome.
JVee Casio showed the way for the Aces with 25 points and five rebounds.
With the Elasto Painters holding on a precarious advantage midway in the final quarter, Alaska maximized on every possession that they got with crucial buckets.
Ping Exciminiano’s fastbreak lay-up sealed the victory for the Aces, who grabbed the second spot in the standings.
Gabe Norwood and James Yap tallied 16 points apiece for Rain or Shine.
The Elasto Painters’ loss mean that they will have a rubber match against the Blackwater Elite to determine who will book the last playoff seat in the 2017 Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Philippine Cup.
Alaska will go up against Barangay Ginebra with a twice-to-beat incentive in the quarterfinals.
The scores:
Alaska (94) – Casio 25, Thoss 13, Manuel 13, Jazul 12, Mendoza 8, Exciminiano 6, Racal 5, Hontiveros 5, Abueva 4, Galliguez 2, Cruz 1, Pascual 0.
Rain or Shine (89) – Norwood 16, Yap 16, Cruz 12, Chan 10, Tiu 9, Washington 8, Belga 6, Ponferada 6, Ahanmisi 4, Trollano 2, Matias 0.
Quarterscores: 17-19, 43-45, 66-71, 94-89.
