THE Alaska Aces led from start to finish in an 88-83 win over the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters that bolstered their semifinal bid in the 36th PBA Governors’ Cup at the Cuneta Astrodome.
The Aces tallied their third win in the last four games, displaying a superb defensive effort at the Cuneta Astrodome last night.
LA Tenorio struck hard in the final half where he poured in 18 of his 22 points to power the Aces who tied their victim’s slate at 4-3 (win-loss) for a share of fourth place.
The Aces led by double digit for most part of the game, including an 81-63 lead inside the final nine minutes of the contest.
The Painters threatened within 10, 71-81 with 4:10 left but Tenorio drilled in a triple that doused the Painters’ rally.
Sonny Thoss scored 14 points and Jason Forte had 11 as the Aces came up with a good follow-up to their 78-70 win over the Powerade Tigers.
Arizona Reid led the Painters with a game-high 26 points while Ronjay Buenafe added 17.
Beau Belga and Gabe Norwood scored 10 points each for the Painters, who failed in their bid of tying the Petron Blaze Boosters at the number one spot.
The semifinal-bound Boosters lead the standings with a 5-2 record.
BOX SCORES
ALASKA (88)- Tenorio 22, Thoss 14, Forte 11, Gonzales 8, Baguio 8, Dela Cruz 7, Custodio 6, Eman 5, Cablay 4, Reyes 3.
RAIN OR SHINE (83)- Reid 26, Buenafe 17, Norwood 10,Belga 10, Arana 7, Chan 5, Cruz 4, Tang 2, Rodriguez 2, Vanlandingham 0, Jazul 0, Kramer 0. QUARTERSCORES: 26-15, 45-35, 71-59, 88-83. /EDITORIAL ASSISTANT CALVIN D. CORDOVA