The Alaska playmaker poured in nine of his game-high 27 points in the second overtime to key his team’s 108-104 win over the Sta. Lucia Realtors at the start of the San Mig Coffee 2005-06 PBA Fiesta Conference wildcard phase at the Cuneta Astrodome.

Cortez twice scored on a penetration and canned two free throws in the closing seconds to give the Aces a 106-101 lead. His three-point play off Kenneth Duremdes’ last foul at the start of the second extension also set the tone for Alaska’s strong finish.

Tony Dela Cruz sealed the deal with another pair of charities even as Alex Cabagnot closed the gap with a meaningless three-pointer at the buzzer.

"The Realtors played well tonight. We just hang in there, hang in there, hang in there until we find a way to win," said Alaska coach Tim Cone.

Cortez showed them the way. He scooped in a basket with three seconds left in the first overtime to level the count at 94-all. It came after Duremdes missed the front end of his free throws with nine seconds remaining.

The former De La Salle ace had seven points in the fourth quarter when the Aces battled back from a 10-point deficit to level and even grab the lead in the dying seconds of regulation.

Duremdes was hot early in the fourth, scoring seven of his team’s first 10 points on that stretch. His three-pointer with seven minutes to go gave the Realtors their biggest lead at 80-70.

Interestingly, the Aces caught the Realtors with import Odell Bradley sitting on the bench. Reynel Hugnatan put the Aces ahead, 87-85, with less than a minute left.

Dennis Espino made two from the line with 34 seconds left to knot the count at 87-all and send the game in extra session.

In the second game, Air21 outplayed a "tired" San Miguel Beer squad which played its third straight game in three days, 97-88, to similarly gain a 1-0 lead in their separate series for one of the two remaining quarterfinals berths.