Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — Unlike the rest of his teammates at Alaska, Ping Exciminiano is not a household name, more so a main gunner.
Exciminiano’s primary role is to make life miserable for his foe with his pesky defense, and he actually excels at that.
But on Tuesday night (January 12), the Aces actually found an unlikely hero in the underrated cager out of Far Eastern University on the offensive end at the Smart-Araneta Coliseum.
Well, on the defensive end, too. But his offensive repertoire was spot on.
Exciminiano fired 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field to help Alaska finish off GlobalPort Batang Pier, 118-89, in Game 5 of their Smart Bro-PBA Philippine Cup.
He also had a pair of steals as the Aces ousted the Batang Pier to earn a return trip to the last dance of the opening conference.
Alaska will play in the finals for the third time in four conferences, losing the first two against its nemesis San Miguel Beermen.
After dropping the best-of-seven affair’s curtain-raiser, the Aces steamrolled the Batang Pier with defense as their main weapon.
And they are expected to utilize that artillery against either the Beermen or the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters, who have engaged themselves in a grueling battle in the other semifinals pairing.
“Sobrang saya na nakabalik kami sa finals. Pero hindi pa dito nagtatapos ang lahat,” said Exciminiano.
“Kailangan pa namin mag-improve. We just need to continue our defense, to communicate, and to play as a team.”
GlobalPort, meanwhile, received a baptism of fire at the hands of Alaska, but its appearance in the penultimate stage in itself is definitely a precursor to progress for the team.
The youthful squad, bannered by the deadly backcourt duo of Terrence Romeo and Stanley Pringle, reached the semifinals for the first time in franchise history.
But the high-octane Batang Pier won’t go home empty-handed as they learned one important lesson heading into the second conference: Offense helps a team win games, but defense will definitely help it win a series.
