Alaska Aces PBA Fiesta Cup 2010 Champions

source: GMAnews.tv

Make that Lucky 13 for Alaska. The Aces weathered repeated rallies by the San Miguel Beermen in the fourth period, holding on to preserve a 102-88 victory in Game 6 of the PBA Fiesta Conference best-of-seven series Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.




The victory enabled the Aces to match the 13 championships of the legendary Crispa Redmanizers and become the second winningest team in PBA history.

Alasla positioned itself among the greatest franchises in PBA history by beating no less than the winningest team of all-time.

Diamon Simpson fired 28 points and snared down 19 rebounds and Cyrus Baguio played his best game in the Finals with 24 points as the two spearheaded a hot first quarter by the Aces to set the tempo of the match they would sustain till the endgame.

The Aces wrapped up the 100th title in PBA annals by winning the series, 4 games to 2.

Not only did Alaska match the number of titles by the Redmanizers, coach Tim Cone also tied Baby Dalupan, his coaching idol, for the most number of titles with imports with a total of nine championships.

Tagged as the underdogs entering the playoffs, the Aces made the crowning glory even sweeter by getting past Ginebra in the quarterfinals, no. 1 seed Talk `N Text in the semis and finally, conquering the no. 2 seeded Beermen in a tournament they were touted to win it all.

“It was an overwhelming performance by our team," said Cone. “We made tough shots all night. It was as if we were destined to win this thing, and somehow we did. What makes this special is the road we had to take."

The title is Alaska’s first in three years since bagging the same tournament in 2007.

Joe Devance added 14, and LA Tenorio had 12 points, 11 assists and six rebounds in winning his first championship as a pro.

Tenorio and Baguio were named co-winners of the Welcoat Paints-PBA Finals MVP, the first pair of players to win the award since Eric Menk and Ronald Tubid did it for Barangay Ginebra in the 2008 Fiesta Cup Finals.

“We made a deal of winning the first quarter today," said Cone. “It’s just a matter of trusting the players."

With Baguio at the firing end, the Aces took their biggest lead in the first half at 41-27, before settling for an eight-point lead at the half.

Best Import Gabe Freeman led San Miguel Beer with 32 points and 18 rebounds, but never got solid contributions from the Beermen’s formidable bench.

Arwind Santos led the locals with 16 points and Mick Pennisi had 12, all of which came from beyond-the-arc as the Beermen tried to rally back.

But San Miguel’s woes were compounded by Jay Washington’s five-point effort, while veteran Dondon Hontiveros again struggled for four points. - RCJ, GMANews.TV


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Alaska Aces Wins Over Talk ‘N Text on Game 7

source: abs-cbnnews.com

The Alaska Aces won the remaining ticket to the PBA Fiesta Cup by beating the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters, 90-81, in Game 7 of their semifinals clash at the Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.





Despite the absence of big man Sonny Thoss, Alaska was able to bank on its defense and secure the winner-take-all.

“Hindi kami nag-give up eh, ayaw pa namin magbakasyon siguro,” said the game’s best player, Cyrus Baguio. “Gumanda ang depensa namin. ’Yun ang importante sa amin, na-stop namin ang drives nila.”

Baguio tallied 14 points, spiced with 4 assists and 4 steals, while Alaska import Diamon Simpson scored 21 and grabbed 9 rebounds.

Alaska was already enjoying a 9 point cushion in the final 2 minutes of the game, 83-74, when Ranidel de Ocampo scored a basket to push Talk ‘N Text within 7 points, 83-76.

This was followed up by Macmac Cardona’s triple, which further cut Alaska’s lead to 83-79 with just a minute remaining.

Aces mentor Tim Cone quickly sued for a time out and drew a play for a well-rested LA Tenorio, who drilled a shot near the corner and push Alaska's lead to 6, 85-79, with 45.5 ticks left.

Jimmy Alapag made a drive for the Tropang Texters just 38 seconds remaining but his attempt was cleanly swatted by Baguio.

Already in the penalty, Talk ‘N Text tried to buy some time by committing fouls. This, however, allowed the Aces a couple of trips to the charity lane that pushed their lead further, 89-81, with just 27 seconds left.

Cardona made a final effort to save the Texters but missed his shot. This led to a scramble and a foul on Tenorio, who sealed the deal at the free throw line and formalized the Aces trip to the PBA finals.

Burly import Shawn Daniels top scored for the Texters with 19 points and 19 rebounds.

The Aces won Game 1 but was beaten by the Tropang Texters in Game 2 to level the series, 1-all. Alaska rebounded in Game 3 but Talk ‘N Text won Games 4 and 5 to push the series to their favor, 3-2.

With their backs on the wall, the Aces beat the Texters in Game 6 to force a do-or-die game for the remaining Finals ticket.

Alaska will begin its championship series with San Miguel on Friday and is expected to lean on its taller players in the absence of the injured Thoss, who sat out Game 6 due to a sprained ankle.

“We're gonna need some size, we can't go out and play them (San Miguel) with a small team. They're really a tough team, we're gonna have to be creative, figure ways to go about it until we can get Sonny back,” said Cone.

Alaska 90 - Simpson 21, De Vance 16, Baguio 14,
Tenorio 10, Fonacier 10, Dela Cruz 10, Hugnatan 5, Borboran 4.

Talk N' Text 81 - Daniels 19, Cardona 16, De Ocampo
15, Reyes 9, Alapag 9, Castro 6, Williams 4, Carey 3, Dillinger 0,
Aban 0.

Quarters: 24-12, 47-36, 63-60, 90-81



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Ginebra vs San Miguel 07.08.09 (Finals Game 5)

Here's game number 5 of the Championship game between Ginebra and San Miguel of the PBA. Watch the video after the jump.



Just Click on the bx to play



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