Barangay Ginebra Dumps Alaska Aces, 108-95

Calvin Abueva and the Alaska Aces call it a day (or conference) after bowing down to Ginebra
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From 6 apiece at the 9-minute marker, Ginebra rallied with 7 after a Tenorio swipe and bucket, a Baracael jumper, and three from the charity stripe. At 5:42, Ginebra unloaded another run at 13-0. For the rest of the first quarter, Ginebra dictated the tempo of the game. Baracael contributed 9 points, with one field goal from rainbow territory. Aguilar added another 8. Alaska on the other hand earned its living from the free throw line, earning 10 of its 21 points, 5 of which came from Espinas, Alaska's leading scorer in the first Q. Ginebra closed the first quarter with an 18-point advantage at 39-21.

Early in the second quarter, Alaska delivered a 6-0 run to cut Ginebra's lead to 15. But halfway through the quarter Ginebra countered with 11 unanswered points to inflate the margin to 26 points, with a Slaughter-slam coming-off a Tenorio dime placing the exclamation mark. Ginebra made another 8-0 run near the last three minutes. At the whistle, Ginebra closed its rally with a 26-point finish. The halftime score: 69-43. Aguilar led the Ginebra in scoring in the 2nd Q with 11 points. Caguioa chipped-in 8, with one three-pointer and an And-1. Alaska was only able to deliver 22 points contra Ginebra's 30 in the quarter, with Baguio leading the Aces with 9 at the 2nd Q.

Slaughter's And-1 opened the third quarter for Ginebra. On the other hand, Alaska began with several sloppy misses that could have been easy buckets. After a 5-0 run by Alaska, both teams had a lull in scores until under 5 remaining. Jazul was able to connect with 2 triples under 4:30 mark, slashing Ginebra's lead down to 24. Third quarter ended at 86-62, with Ginebra still very much in control. Ginebra scored 17, Alaska scored 19.

Tenorio opened the fourth quarter with a trey. Casio answered with his own and two shots from the free throw line. Casio would later drain another two triples and Jazul will add one. Alaska would be able to outscore Ginebra in the fourth quarter, 33 against 22, but Ginebra was able to keep its lead in double-digits until the final whistle. Thoss and Abueva fouled out after contributing 7 and 5 points, respectively. Six players of Ginebra finished in double-digits: Aguilar with 29 (11 of which came during the 2ndQ), Tenorio with 22, Ellis with 16, Baracael with 12, Caguioa with 12, Slaughter with 11. Casio's 16 points (11 from the 4th Q), Espinas' 16, Jazul's 14, Thoss, Abueva and Baguio's 13 each were unable to land Alaska a win and a shot at the semis.

Game changer: Ginebra's consistent scoring runs throughout the four quarters spelled the difference between a win by a small margin and a win by double-digits. Alaska's firepower from beyond the arc --- the one that gave them the advantage and win in their first game against Ginebra --- was not as hot. Ginebra advances to the semifinals.