Aces rip Beermen in OT, stay at helm

MANILA, Philippines - LA Tenorio stepped up in overtime as Alaska Milk bucked a coaching error in regulation and Arwind Santos’ fourth quarter explosion as it thwarted San Miguel Beer, 122-116, to remain on top in the KFC PBA Philippine Cup at the Araneta Coliseum last night. Tenorio fired a career-tying 27 points against his former team and came away with six rebounds and five assists to help the Aces overcome a late error by Tim Cone for their 10th victory against a loss while stopping the Beermen’s nine-game streak. “Had we lost that game I would have taken the blame. I had a bad decision at the end of regulation when I told Joe deVance to miss the shot thinking San Miguel had a 30-second timeout left and they can’t call a 30-second timeout from the backcourt,” said Cone. That endgame miscue enabled San Miguel to tie the game at 108 as Dondon Hontiveros scored on an alley-oop shot off an inbound pass from Jonas Villanueva with 1.5 seconds to go. But Tenorio took charge in the extra period as he powered the Aces to the victory while dealing the Beermen their third loss against nine wins. The win also put to naught Santos’ 24-point output, the bulk of which he scored in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter as the Beermen rallied to seize the lead. Earlier, Roger Yap took over from James Yap at crunchtime as Purefoods turned back upset-conscious Barako Bull, 70-66, to gain solo third place. James Yap scattered eight of his 18 points in the fourth quarter while Roger Yap scored five of his 11 points in the last two minutes to help the TJ Hotdogs break out of a tie with the Talk n Text Texters and the Barangay Ginebra Kings with their eighth win against four losses. Purefoods coach Ryan Gregorio, however, was disappointed with the way the Hotdogs played. “We were not fluid at all especially on offense and it’s alarming we’re turning the ball crazy,” said Gregorio, referring to their 17 turnovers. “But what is more alarming was Barako Bull outrebounded us (51-43).” But Roger Yap, who uncorked a game-high 21 points in an 89-81 triumph over the Kings last Sunday, took over down the stretch and saved the day for the TJ Hotdogs again.

Source: philstar.com