Alaska breaks tie with Rain or Shine

Should the two teams meet in the Finals,
the theme should be
LET THE BODIES HIT THE FLOOR

The legend of the Cebuano Hotshot lives on.

Sinking seven of 10 three point attempts, Alaska Aces' veteran leader Dondon Hontiveros carried the fight when all seemed lost after his team fell by as much as 22 points versus the Rain or Shine Elastopainters.

Prior to the 4th quarter and overtime barrage, the Aces appeared to be out of sync and couldn't make any of their attempts. The Elastopainters on the other hand, were firing from all cylinders and making the most of mismatches on the floor starting with 7"3 import Bruno Sundov, big guard Paul Lee and the usual bench mob suspects (just pick your poison from game to game, tonight it was a little of TY Tang, Jireh Ybanes and Jervy Cruz).

Then midway of the third happened.


Coach Yeng Guiao sat Lee, followed by Sundov and in came Gabe Norwood, Chris Tiu and Jeff Chan. Well, minus the import and their best one-on-one creator, the Elastopainters lost all kinds of momentum and became stagnant on offense. Chan wasn't fighting off screens-- just waiting for the pass which he has been doing a lot this season, and couldn't get into any sort of rhythm. Norwood and Tiu did the little things, but they were their usual hesitant self on offense. This made life easier for the Aces, playing a mix of zone and trap while also putting in guys like Hontiveros, RJ Jazul and Gabby Espinas who were all more than willing to put up shots.

Up to that point, the game lacked that spark, that "fight" expected of these two teams. The Elastopainters have always been known to stretch and test the limits to the referees' whistle-blowing ways, while the Aces are slowly but surely starting to embrace a more "throwback," rugged style thanks to rookie Calvin Abueva and partner in crime Espinas.

When things started to get testy, the refs clamped down hard on the Elastopainters but probably not as much with the Aces. There were some calls that were a bit too thin really, but the Elastopainters have only themselves to blame.

The Chan-Lee combo was what Coach Yeng opted to finish the game with, and again those two "stars" were unable to find a midground. Lee was either going one on one or looking elsewhere, while Chan was simply waiting for the pass.

This is a far cry from last season's hot shooting Chan who got open looks because he was moving without the basketball. They were able to co-exist because he was Lee's primary kickout option, but this season, it's almost like "your turn, my turn" with the two.

Lee tries to create for himself and if succeeds then so be it. If the set isn't there, then they swing the ball early to get Chan in the mix and let him go iso as well. The only time that Chan looked like last season's version was in the botched game winning three point attempt he had to end regulation. The set was designed beautifully by Coach Yeng, Chan found himself wide open only for the shot to be too strong.

Should the two teams meet in the Finals (given their record and the way they've been going lately that might not be much of a stretch), then we're going to be in for a wild ride. The Aces' have trouble handling the Elastopainters' bigger guards and forwards, but they can very well shoot their way back into any game as proven by last night's courageous display.

And the fans deserve to see an all-out war with Abueva, Espinas, Belga and Quinahan. Look for Coach Yeng to use Ryan Arana and Jireh Ybanes more to lockdown the Aces' shooters next time.