MANILA — Playing with superb poise and unflinching resolve, the Alaska Aces are now in possession of the most important ticket in the playoffs, one that guarantees them the top spot and the twice-to-beat advantage that goes with it. In a scintillating match watched by over 15,000 rip-roaring fans, the Aces survived a ferocious second-half rally by the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings to win 102-93 in the PBA Commissioner's Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum. With their 10th win in 13 outings, the Aces have assured themselves of the No. 1 seeding heading into the playoffs even if they lose their last elimination round game against lowly GlobalPort Batang Pier this Friday. The victory reprised Alaska's earlier conquest of Ginebra whom they thrashed 84-69 in their first meeting way back on Feb. 23 this year. Wednesday's win also snapped Ginebra's six-game winning streak, the longest in the conference. The Kings thus fell into a tie for fourth to fifth place with the San Mig Coffee Mixers at 7-6. More significantly, the loss dashed Ginebra's hopes of snaring one of the top two spots in the playoffs. Hard-working import Robert Dozier once again led Alaska with another 20-20 performance – a game-high 28 points and 20 rebounds. He scored 11 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter which saw the Alaska unleashing a 10-0 run to pull away from a tied game. In that final quarter, Dozier also played superb defense against his Ginebra counterpart Vernon Macklin, limiting the explosive import to just five points. The Aces' air-tight defense also limited the Kings to just three field goals in the last six minutes of the game. Dozier got plenty of support, with six other Aces scoring at least eight points. Cyrus Baguio and Gabby Espinas finished with 12 points each, Calvin Abueva had 11, while Dondon Hontiveros chipped in with 10. JVee Casio and Sonny Thoss added eight points apiece. Macklin led Ginebra with 27 points, 18 rebounds and eight assists. LA Tenorio and Mac Baracael added 19 and 16 points respectively for the Kings, who for the fourth straight game missed the scoring punch of their injured top gunner, the reigning MVP Mark Caguioa. The Aces were ahead by 14 points at halftime when the Kings exploded with a 16-0 run at the start of the third quarter. The Aces recovered their bearing as the two squads fought tooth and nail towards the homestretch. After a Tenorio triple that tied the game at 86-all with six minutes left, the Aces ignited their own fireworks with huge baskets coming from Hontiveros, Dozier and Abueva. In the first match of the Wednesday double-header, Denzel Bowles churned out 29 points and 16 rebounds to power the San Mig Coffee Mixers to an 80-66 win against the Air21 Express. The win improved San Mig Coffee's record to 7-6 while Air21 fell to solo eighth at 5-8. The Mixers won despite a zero-point output from their ailing top gunner James Yap, who missed all his shots in just 14 minutes and missed all of his shots. In place of Yap, Marc Pingris sizzled for 14 points and 14 rebounds. Unfortunately, Pingis was taken out early in the fourth quarter after he injured his right ankle. Michael Dunigan scored 18 points and grabbed 17 rebounds for Air21, but his output was not enough to stop the Express from notching their third straight defeat.
