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Monday, April 11, 2005
Alaska escapes with a win over the FedEx 5
FEDEX import Anthony Miller was brilliant. Too bad his teammates weren’t.
Miller exploded for 27 points and 16 rebounds, but Alaska made the big plays and benefited from a couple of critical FedEx blunders in crunch time to pull off a 87-83 victory over the Express in yesterday’s opening game of the PBA Fiesta Conference doubleheader at the Araneta Coliseum.
While Barangay Ginebra knocked off San Miguel Beer from the top of the standings after a 103-88 demolition job in the main game. Ginebra now sits at the top with a 5-2 card, while San Miguel, which missed the services of big men Dorian Peña and Danny Ildefonso, dropped to 5-3.
The hero
Jeffrey Cariaso had a 17-point, six-rebound, six-assist performance and nailed pressure-packed free throws in the last 11.2 seconds to pull Alaska out of a game that went back and forth from the opening buzzer to the last moments of the final period.
With Alaska leading, 83-78, late in the game, FedEx went on a 5-0 run on a Wynne Arboleda 3-pointer and a Miller transition bucket to knot the score with only 1:43 left.
Alaska playmaker Mike Cortez, who ended up with 15 points, five assists, and three steals, then found Reynel Hugnatan for a momentum-shifting undergoal stab with 1:04 to put Alaska on top by two.
FedEx bomber Ren Ren Ritualo, who had 16 points but shot just 1-for-10 on 3-pointers, airballed his 3-point attempt in the ensuing play before Cortez took control of the ball with half a minute left and tried to set up the Alaska offense for one final bucket.
That was when FedEx shot itself in the foot.
The goat
Swingman Wesley Gonzales, a hero (21 points) in the Express’ win over the Talk ‘N Text Phone Pals last Friday, somewhat played the role of a goat this time, committing a silly foul on Cortez, who was 30 feet away from the bucket with the Alaska shot clock running out.
With the Alaska leading by two and its shot clock reset to 12.3 seconds, FedEx fouled Cariaso, a 92- percent foul shooter this conference.
Cariaso calmly buried his two free throws and FedEx failed to score in the next 11.2 seconds to cede the win to Alaska, which is now tied with FedEx with a 3-4 record. GCM
(April 11, 2005 issue)
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