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PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines – Alaska upped its bet for a top four finish after beating NLEX, 122-119, in overtime in the PBA Philippine Cup on Monday at AUF Sports Arena & Cultural Center in Angeles, Pampanga.
Maverick Ahanmisi delivered his best game in the bubble with 25 points, 12 rebounds and three steals to lead the Aces.
“We just wanted to go out and be aggressive. We knew how great this game was, ”Ahanmisi said.
“To be in contention for the top four, we needed to win this game.”
Alaska raised its record to 7-4 just half a game behind Barangay Geneva, TNT and Phoenix, who all have 7-3 records.
Ahanmisi fouled with 1:08 left in the game, but not after he gave the Aces a 120-115 cushion after a strong run with 1:18 left.
JVee Casio, who sealed Alaska’s big win with a free throw with 9.1 ticks to go, added 19 points, including a basket that forced overtime with 37.4 seconds left.
NLEX guard Kiefer Ravena reached the highest score with 30 points, but missed an open triple that would have tied the game at 120 with less than 15 seconds remaining.
The loss dealt a major blow to the Road Warriors’ playoff chances as they fell to 4-5 and placed 1.5 games behind Rain or Shine for the eighth and final quarterfinal.
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