Game on Friday (Araneta Coliseum)
7 p.m. – Purefoods vs Alaska

Purefoods came through with tough defensive plays at crunch time to eke out a pulsating 81-77 win over Alaska in Game 1 of their title series in the KFC-PBA Philippine Cup Wednesday night at the Araneta Coliseum.

Though it was James Yap who shattered the last deadlock at 70-all, Purefoods’ role players – Raffy Reavis, Niño Canaleta, and Marc Pingris – stood rock solid in the middle to repel Alaska’s spirited comeback and take the opener of their best-of-seven championship series.

Kerby Raymundo also shone for the Giants as he gave Purefoods a 76-72 lead with a tough jumper but Reynel Hugnatan responded quickly with a gutsy drive that moved them within 74-76.

But it proved to be their last hurrah as Raymundo found Reavis open underneath for a 78-74 lead. Though Pingris flubbed his two free throws after an Alaska miscue, Reavis scored on a putback that eased the tension, 80-74 with barely 35 ticks left.

The Aces threatened last on a booming triple by Willie Miller but time was clearly not on their side.

Alaska coach Tim Cone surprisingly put a smaller defender, 5-foot-8 point guard LA Tenorio on ace shooter James Yap, and the 6-foot-2 guard took advantage of the situation as he scattered 12 points in the first two quarters.

Yap finished with 24 points while Raymundo and Pingris had 15 and 13 points.

The Aces still managed to keep the game close despite the poor shooting of former two-time MVP Willie Miller, who had 4-of-15 shooting from the field in the first two quarters.

Still, Miller recovered a bit to finish with 23 points.

However, it was Miller who scored Alaska’s last six straight points in the second period, including a pair of free throws that gave the Aces a 36-34 lead before Marc Pingris answered with a tear-drop shot that tied the count, 36-all, at halftime.

Meantime, pre-tournament favorite San Miguel Beer settled for third place by downing sister-team Barangay Ginebra, 95-88.

Dondon Hontiveros led San Miguel with 18 points on top of six rebounds and four assists, while former two-time Most Valuable Player (MVP) Danny Ildefonso came off the bench to register 15 points and six boards as the Beermen consoled themselves of being the No. 3 team in the season-opening tournament.

The scores:
First Game:
San Miguel 95 – Hontiveros 18, Ildefonso 15, Seigle 10, Pena 10, Villanueva 9, Cortez 9, Washington 8, Racela 8, Miranda 6, Holper 2, Custodio 0.
Ginebra 88 – Tubid 22, Intal 13, Alvarez 10, Cagioa 9, Mamaril 8, Villanueva 8, Helterbrand 7, Baguio 4, White 3, Wilson 2, Abarrientos 2, Salvacion 0.
Quarters: 24-31, 47-43, 69-70, 95-88.

Second Game:
Purefoods 81 - Yap J. 24, Raymundo 15, Pingris 13, Canaleta 8, Reavis 6, Allado 6, Yap R. 5, Maierhofer 2, Simon 2, Artadi 0.
Alaska 77 - Miller 23, De Vance 10, Thoss 9, Tenorio 8, Hugnatan 8, Borboran 7, Cablay 5, Dela Cruz 4, Ferriols 3, Fonacier 0, Cariaso 0.
Quarters: 15-19, 36-36, 61-58, 81-77.