Jason Forte completed a scintillating 40-point game, helping Alaska stay alive in the semifinal race of the 36th PBA Governors’ Cup as the Aces subdued the eliminated B-Meg Llamados, 105-86, last night at the Araneta Coliseum.
Forte was not really known as a scorer during his first stint in the league playing with the Air21 Express and was even rumored to be on the way out when the Aces lost its first two games in the conference.
But Forte, who actually planed in to the country using his own resources to try out for different teams and eventually was able to impress Alaska, has been a scoring machine for the Aces this conference. Last night was perhaps his finest scoring performance in his career.
In a game that was virtually a do-or-die game for his team, Forte carried the Aces on his shoulders, erupting for a conference-high 42 points on a high 19-for-25 shooting from the field.
On top of his terrific scoring, Forte was also active on the defensive end as he hauled down 16 rebounds.
The high-leaping import capped his brilliant scoring with a jaw-dropping 360-slamdunk that also ended the night’s scoring.
The Aces improved to 7-5 (win-loss), logging just their second win in the semis. Alaska’s first win was against the Petron Blaze Boosters, where Forte scored 36 points in an 88-81 win.
Sonny Thoss scored 17 points, Tony Dela Cruz added 15, while LA Tenorio donated 10 for the Aces, who climbed to third place behind the Barangay Ginebra Kings (7-4) and the Talk ‘N Text Tropang Texters (8-3), who were still playing against each other as of press time.
James Yap scored 25 points for the Llamados, who just got five points from import Myron Allen for their seventh loss in 12 games.
BOX SCORES
ALASKA (105) – Forte 42, Thoss 17, Dela Cruz 15, Tenorio 10, Borboran 9, Custodio 7, Thiele 3, Reyes 2, Dimaunahan 0, Cablay 0.
B-MEG (86)- Yap J. 25, Simon 18, Urbiztondo 9, Devance 7, Pingris 6, Reavis 6, Allen 5, Gaco 4, Allado 4, Fernandez 2, Adducul 0.
QUARTERSCORES: 16-21, 37-35, 68-64, 105-86.