Shut down in 1st 3 quarters, Miller shows up in 4th to lead Aces to Game 2 win

ALASKA has a basic plan in the homestretch of a tight game: Put the ball in Willie Miller's hands.

That proved to be successful again for the Aces as Miller led a fiery windup that carried them past the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters, 100-91, Friday for a 2-0 lead in their KFC PBA Philippine Cup Finals at the Araneta Coliseum.



Miller more than atoned for his struggles in the early goings by scoring six of his eight points, snaring two defensive rebounds and issuing an assist during a 16-0 surge that boosted Alaska from an 84-89 deficit and into an insurmountable 11-point lead, only 61 seconds left.

That despite not really knowing when to press the attack and having a hard time defending in the early goings.

“Hindi ko alam kung kelan p'wede at kung kelan relaxed,” said the two-time MVP. “Kapag relaxed, galit si (assistant coach) Jolas (Lastimosa). Kapag atake, galit si coach (Tim).”

A bloodied Sonny Thoss, high-point man Joe Devance and veteran Jeffrey Cariaso also did their share during that run, but it was Miller whom Aces coach Tim Cone gave the most credit to after the follow-up to their 102-95 win in Game One last Wednesday.

“He's the best closer in the game,” stated Cone. “We feel if the game is close if we get the ball to his hands we feel we can win. He did that for us tonight. When the game was on the line he took over.”

Game Three of the Finals, supported by Dickies, Solar Sports, Gateway Cineplex-10, Alaska, Talk N Text and Araneta Center, is set Sunday also at the Big Dome and Cone said they will try and deviate from the game-plan they've had in the first two games.

“We wanted to win the first one and after that win the second game. That worked for us (in the semifinals series) against Sta. Lucia (Realty),” he said.

“Now we see if we can change that a bit and win Game Three. We lost that one to Sta. Lucia but we have to find similar energy. That's always hard since you're playing three games in five days.”

The loss should be a difficult one to take for TNT, which has not been held to back-to-back games below 100 since Dec. 10 and 14, which resulted in a split.

The Tropang Texters have only themselves to blame, going 0-of-8 from the field and committing five turnovers after Mac-Mac Cardona's triple gave them the five-point lead, 6:36 left in the game.
“We've been lucky so far, they're not hitting their open shots,” noted Cone. “We know we still have our work cut out for us. There will be a game or two where they will knock down their shots. It hasn't happened yet, but still I expect that to happen.”

Devance led all scorers with 24 points on top of nine rebounds for Alaska, which is looking to end an eight-year all-Filipino title drought. Game One hero LA Tenorio notched his second career double-double with 17 points and 10 assists.

Thoss, whose nose was bloodied while trying to defend against Ranidel de Ocampo, 6:25 to go in the third, wound up with 14 points and six rebounds despite having difficulty breathing for the remainder of the game.

“He continued to bleed, couldn't breathe. We've got to get him to the hospital for some X-rays,” related Cone. “Usually, when it bleeds right away like that, it's broken. I just don't know if we can fit him with a mask in time for the next game.”

After serving out his one-game suspension following a flagrant foul-penalty 2 in the semis, Ranidel returned with a vengeance, scoring a team-high 20 points to go with six rebounds.

Ren-Ren Ritualo had 18 points, Jimmy Alapag and Cardona 16 each and Harvey Carey 14 and a team-high nine boards.

Thoss' spirit summed up the game, which remained close, with the Tropang Texters sporting just a 79-76 edge when the third period wound up and De Ocampo stretching it to 86-80 off a short stab.

Alaska putting up a much better stance on both ends of the court Friday night became readily apparent when it held TNT to just 19 points in the first quarter, 11 short of the latter's output over the same stretch in the opener.

The Aces held the Tropang Texters to just 19 points in the opening period while banking on a fluid running game to take an early 25-14 lead and extend it to 37-27, off Cariaso's back-to-back layups, 7:38 to go in the second.

And then Ritualo started really waxing hot. The player dubbed as “Rain Man” for his ability to pour in triples, surprised Miller's defense by often going to the basket and notching eight of his 12 points in the quarter.

With Ranidel de Ocampo, Alapag and Carey joining in, TNT managed to take a 55-54 edge into the break. (NCo)

The scores:

Alaska 100 - De Vance 24, Tenorio 17, Cariaso 15, Thoss 14, Dela Cruz 9, Hugnatan 8, Miller 8, Ferriols 3, Fonacier 2.

Talk N' Text 91 - De Ocampo R. 20, Ritualo 18, Cardona 16, Alapag 16, Carey 14, Castro 5, Peek 2, Dillinger 0, De Ocampo Y. 0.

Quarterscores: 25-19, 54-55, 76-79, 100-91.


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