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Alaska gets 3-2 edge in PBA Finals; 600th win for Cone
Written by staff   
Saturday, 07 February 2009 03:15

Alaska gets 3-2 edge in PBA Finals; 600th win for ConeWillie Miller redeemed himself with just one magical shot. After throwing a couple of crucial possessions in the closing minutes, Miller saved what could have been a forgettable night for him with a looping three-pointer that towed Alaska to a pulsating 95-93 win in Game 5 of the 2008-09 KFC-PBA Philippine Cup finals Friday night at the Cuneta Astrodome.

The win gave the Aces a 3-2 advantage in the best-of-seven championship series and just a win away from claiming its fourth All-Filipino title and 13th overall.

"Luckily, Willie hit that shot," said Alaska head coach Tim Cone. "But Willie is Willie. He's a gutsy player. He hit big shots in his career that's why he won a couple of MVPs."

The play was actually not for Miller to take the three-pointer but the 32-year old guard saw the opportunity he did not get in Game 4.

"Honestly, that's not the play. The play was for him to get the ball and create the shot for us," said Cone. "If he did not make the shot, he's gonna hear a lot from the team."

But Miller didn't let that happen.

"Nag-sag sila kay Joe Devance kaya binuga ko na lang," said Miller. "Last time kasi, hindi ako nakakuha ng opportunity kaya nag-error pa ako. Kaya sabi ko, next time kapag may chance ititira ko na."

And the 25-foot shot, over the outstretched arm of TNT's Jared Dillinger, found the mark that gave Alaska a 95-93 lead.

Tropang Texters had two opportunities to steal the game or at least send the game in overtime but Renren Ritualo muffed a three-pointer while Harvey Carey failed to convert the follow up that sent the Aces in jubilation.

Sonny Thoss led Alaska with 20 points while Larry Fonacier contributed big in lieu of skipper Jeffrey Cariaso who sat out due to a hamstring injury. Fonacier contributed 15 markers off the bench.

Miller finished with 15 points, six rebounds and seven assists but his all-around game was almost forgotten with his crucial errors in the final period where Talk 'N Text mounted a rally.

Trailing 64-80, the Tropang Texters unleashed a 19-5 blast capped by Mark Cardona's three-point play off LA Tenorio to push TNT within two, 83-85 with 4:53 left.

But Tony dela Cruz scored the next five points for Alaska for a 90-83 spread. But TNT quickly recovered as Cardona hit a triple and Jimmy Alapag converted a pair of free throws to threaten at 88-90 with 1:11 left.

Then Miller turned the ball over in the next play and Cardona gave Tropang Texters the first taste of the lead after a long while with a trey, 91-90.

Thoss' pair of bonus shots off Dillinger's foul put the lead back to the Aces, 92-91 but Ranidel de Ocampo responded with a short stab to make it 93-92 with 17.8 seconds remaining.

Cone sued a timeout and Miller drove to the baseline but hit a difficult reverse lay-up with 11.8 ticks left. De Ocampo failed to control the rebound that led to the game-winning triple of Miller at the left flank.

"It's all my fault. I did not know it will be a baseline throw in," said a dejected TNT mentor Chot Reyes. "It's a stupid coaching on my part."

Cardona led the Tropang Texters with 23 points while Alapag added 19. Yousif Aljamal had a conference-high 12 points, all in the first half. He was never inserted in the second half.

The win was 600th for Cone, the second coach to reach the 600-win mark. He's now trailing the legendary Virgilio "Baby" Dalupan in the all-time list. The Maestro had 601 wins.

Tags: PBA  Alaska  Basketball  
 
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