Purefoods, playing with intensity and a great deal of committed passion, relived PBA history with a four-game sweep of the fancied Alaska Aces 86-76 to win the KFC PBA Philippine Cup before a huge crowd at the Araneta Coliseum on Wednesday.
Youthful coach Ryan Gregorio did what’s he’s done all conference long by effectively riding the backs of his most trusted men to seal the deal that stunned most pundits by the seeming ease with which it was achieved especially in the final game.
The game-deciding referee’s call in Game 2 which undercut Alaska’s chance to forge a 1-1 deadlock was almost totally forgotten by the dominance of Purefoods in the final game and the patently visible desire of its players to win in contrast with a lackadaisical Alaska side where there seemed to be no aces and no c elebrated “Miller Time” no matter what the banners of the Alaska faithful reflected .
The “Best Player of the Conference”, the redoubtable James Yap and his namesake and backcourt partner Roger Yap turned in big games with James also winning the Press Corps award as the Finals Most Valuable Player.
James finished with 18 points but one move in the third quarter where he took Willie Miller to school accentuated his skill and his will to win. His seven points in the final quarter helped thwart any hopes that coach Tim Cone had of his players clawing back, although a mighty, buzzer-beating heave by L.A.Tenorio to tie the halftime score at 40-40 provided a glimmer of hope that Alaska could keep the serried alive.
Roger Yap put on his own brand of basketball to finish his own sterling series with 16 points as well as team-highs of nine rebounds and six assists.
Purefoods in winning its eighth PBA title and fifth All Filipino crown tied the fabled Crispa Redmanizers of the glory days of the pro league in the most import-less championships won.
An emotional embrace by team manager and incoming PBA chairman Rene Pardo and coach Gregorio at the end of the game summed up the road to glory for Purefoods.
Gregorio said later “Chapter closed, destination reached. Now we can celebrate.”
The victory became all the more memorable by the fact that Purefoods ended the conference with seven straight sometimes gripping victories which contrasted sharply with its rollercoaster start when it finished the first round of the eliminations with a 4-4 win-loss card.
Gregorio noted , “This is really close to impossible but we did it.”
For Alaska, Sonny Thoss finished with game highs of 19 points and 12 rebounds while Willie Miller and LA Tenorio had at least 11 points each, but the failure of Alaska to come up with a more balanced offensive while matching Purefoods’ lockdown defense spelled doom.
The loss must hurt coach Cone who has never lost four games in a row in a finals which appeared unthinkable after the Aces finished No. 1 after the elims and swept Barangay Ginebra in the semifinals.
But while Cone was denied his 13th title, Gregorio finally followed up his championships in the 2002 Governors Cup and ’06 Philippine Cup which was the last time the Giants won a title.
Great Taste, the John Gokongwei franchise was the last to team to achieve a sweep in an All-Filipino Finals, needing just three games against Hills Bros in 1987 while RFM Corporation’s Swift was the last to carve a four-game sweep in the finals, against Seven-Up in the 1992 Third Conference.
The possibility of a sweep by Purefoods suddenly emerged as real when the San Miguel Corporation owned squad moved ahead for good in the fourth period, erecting a 75-63 lead before fully dashing Alaska’s hopes with an 84-76 lead in the last 1:48 off a James Yap triple.
Gregorio paid tribute to King James saying “We needed someone to put the final touches, and James provided that with his three-point shot. It’s truly a miraculous ride for us and I’m so happy to be with this Purefoods franchise.”
Picking up from where it left off, Alaska finally managed to start a quarter right when it raced to several four-point leads in the third, the last at 48-44. But it lost its initiative when it went blank for more than four minutes, giving Purefoods the momentum to take the period 65-58. In that crucial stretch, the Aces muffed five charity tries, two field goal attempts and turned the ball over thrice while Rico Maierhofer , showing remarkable intensity and poise for a rookie, repeated his Game 3 performance by scoring seven points in a crucial stretch in the third quarter.
Alaska clawed back Behind Tony dela Cruz to come to within two points at 57-59, but PJ Simon drained a trey and KG Canaleta completed a three-point play as the Giants took a seven-point cushion into the last 12 minutes of play.
Purefoods seemed poised to pounce on Alaska’s jugular right in the second quarter when it took a 35-22 lead, but backed off uncharacteristically and allowed the Aces to score the last 10 points of the period for a 40-all count at the half. Alaska’s fight for survival took the form of an aggressive stance from the get-go, but produced some unpleasant results in the early goings. After falling behind by 4-11 and crawling back to within 10-11, the Aces were called for four straight offensive fouls, enabling the Giants to pull away anew and take the opening period 21-15.
Officiating once again came into question and Cone was properly infuriated by a charging foul slapped on Reynaldo Hugnatan, causing him to enter the court and protest to the referees, netting him a technical foul in the process. When the next offensive call was made against Thoss, Cone could only smile, realizing he was in a losing battle.
Purefoods 86 – Yap, J. 18, Yap, R. 16, Raymundo 13, Maierhofer 12, Pingris 9, Simon 5, Reavis 5, Canaleta 3, Artadi 3, Salvador 2, Allado 0.
Alaska 76 – Thoss 19, Miller 17, Tenorio 11, Hugnatan 9, Cariaso 5, De Vance 4, Fonacier 4, Dela Cruz 4, Ferriols 2, Cablay 1, Borboran 0.
Quarters: 21-15, 40-40, 65-58,
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