Aces keep date with destiny

The Alaska Aces kept their date with destiny by posting a 102-88 victory over the San Miguel Beermen to win the 2010 Philippine Basketball Association Fiesta Conference championship at the Araneta Coliseum last Wednesday.

We won 12 titles before but this 13th PBA title is the sweetest because it was so hard to win. We had to scramble from the start. Then we had to beat Ginebra. Then it was Talk n Text in seven games. This is so special considering those great teams, those great coaches. It is so sweet to win, said Alaska coach Tim Cone.

In the process the Aces won their 13th PBA title tying the record of the storied Crispa Redmanizers. The Beermen, who joined the PBA a decade ahead of Alaska, still lead the league with the most PBA championships with 18 titles.

Mick Pennisi drained back-to-back triples to push the Beermen within nine points of the Alaska lead, 93-84, with still 4:29 to go in the game. But Diamon Simpson hit a pair of crucial baskets to tow the Aces to victory.

Simpson had another dominant performance scoring 28 points, grabbing 19 rebounds, tallying five blocks, issuing three assists and coming up with one steal.

He (Simpson) is the one guy no else had an answer for, said coach Tim. He is young, he is energetic. They just did not have an answer for him.

Cyrus Baguio had 24 markers to go with three rebounds and two steals.

Cyrus is just scratching the surface of his potential, said coach Tim. He is still not doing the little things like using a screen well. He is getting by on sheer athleticism. The triangle offense is built for him and the sky is the limit as to how good he can become.

Joe Devance scored 14 points, grabbed four rebounds, had one assist and one steal.

LA Tenorio had 12 markers, 11 assists and six rebounds.

The key to the series was the maturation of Joe and LA, said coach Tim. Joe is actually our leading local scorer. His contributions cannot be underestimated. He certainly does not get enough credit.

Sonny Thoss - back in the starting lineup after Tony Dela Cruz woke up Tuesday morning with sore eyes - scored 12 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

We put Sonny back in the starting lineup, said coach Tim. Then lo and behold, we got off to a good start, taking the lead early. We were forced to make adjustments which worked.

Mark Borboran had six markers, five rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block.

Larry Fonacier drained a pair of triples to tally six points, grabbed three rebounds and issued two assists.

Reynel Hugnatan, bumped heads with the San Miguel bigs a couple of times en route to grabbing four rebounds.

The Aces dominated the boards, grabbing 57 rebounds compared to only 47 by San Miguel.

The Aces had more free throws, converting 18 of 24 attempts compared to the Beermen who converted 10 of 13 attempts.

Baguio and Tenorio shared the award of the Finals Most Valuable Player.

Simpson scored on a follow up from underneath the ring as time expired to push Alaska to a nine-point lead after the first quarter, 28-19.

Joseph Yeo drilled a long triple to cut the Aces lead to only four points, 44-40. But Simpson converted a jumper to go with a pair of free throws by Borboran as Alaska posted a comfortable eight-point cushion, 48-40, at halftime.

The Aces first erected their biggest lead of 14 points, 41-27, with 7:07 to go in the second period after Baguio drained a triple followed by an undergoal stab.

The scores:

Alaska 102 - Diamon Simpson 28, Cyrus Baguio 24, Joe Devance 14, LA Tenorio 12, Sonny Thoss 12, Mark Borboran 6, Larry Fonacier 6, Topex Robinson 0, Reynel Hugnatan 0, Jeff Cariaso 0.

San Miguel 88 - Gabe Freeman 32, Arwind Santos 16, Mick Pennisi 12, Alex Cabagnot 7, Jay Washington 5, Danny Ildefonso 5, Denok Miranda 4, Dondon Hontiveros 4, Joseph Yeo 3, Dorian Pena 0.

Quarter scores: 28-19, 52-44, 77-64, 102-88.