Tony Diaz racked up 12 points in the second quarter and top scored with 27, slipping through the cracks in Andoks’ defense on Wednesday.
Joy Dayrit couldn’t see what was coming as Aces’ Fred Pelisamen rallied past him and snuck a layup to overturn the match, 69-68 eight minutes into the fourth quarter.
This was the Aces’ second turnaround in the second half since pulling a 65-63 lead from Clayton Kenty’s free throws.
A flurry of turnovers threw off Andoks’ offense in the third quarter allowing Jun Alipio only two points while Tim Wesley, Joy Dayrit, and Bernard Montano scored three apiece.
The Ol’ Aces ruled the closing 10 minutes on a 23-16 run with seven points from Diaz and a combined nine from Pelisamen and Peter Camacho.
Both sides had earlier lost one of their tallest men —Alex Lauron and Aces’ center Zack Diaz — who fouled out in the final quarter.
With eight minutes to go, Tony Diaz and Tahj van Buuren sparked their rally on two triples while Mike Olaitiman blasted his second basket of the evening.
Team Andoks missed nearly half their shots in an attempt to throw back the Aces. Tenorio failed to repeat his seven-point shooting spree from the third period and instead, eked out only one basket before the buzzer.
Pelisamen finished off on 15 points while Peter Camacho scored 13.
Scores:
Ol’ Aces 74 – T. Diaz 27, F. Pelisamen 15, P. Camacho 13, Romeo 6, G. White 4, M. Olaitiman 4, T. van Buuren 3, C. Kenty 2
Andoks 72 – J. Dayrit 16, J. Alipio 14, T. Wesley 11, D. Tenorio 9, B. Montano 7, J. Abedes 5, Park 5, J. Artates 2, M. Umali 2, J. Llagas 1
Quarterscores: 18-17, 38-36, 51-56, 74-72
Satbahi survives Mobil, 78-64
Meanwhile, Blue Haus-Satbahi escaped the Mobil’s clutch with a 78-64 win in Wednesday’s first game.
Satbahi eventually took control after a long-fought first half and outscored Mobil, 25-10 in the fourth quarter.
The latter had earlier broken a 35-35 deadlock from the first half and notched a one-point lead after back-to-back baskets from Leo Factor and Pete Lizama.
Ehroll Peredo scored six of his 14 points in the final quarter to stretch Satbahi’s lead while Brandon Talania garnered 11. Teammate Marlon Dedios left the court with a game high 16 points.
Jun Estolas, who settled for seven points, was Mobil’s only player to score more than one basket in the final quarter. Juan Maratita, Gyles Ruluked, and Lizama made up for six of the team’s 10 late-game points.
Elgin Mangali canned a three-pointer halfway through the fourth quarter and Bernard Aquino followed with a basket, propelling Satbahi 12 points ahead.
Juan Maratita and Leo Factor top scored in Mobil’s corner with 11 points each. Gyles Ruluked and Bart Demapan earned 10 apiece.
Scores:
Blue Haus-Satbahi 78 – M. Dedios 16, E. Peredo 14, B. Talania 11, E. Mangali 9, J. Kintz 8, B. Aquino 8, J. Guiab 8, M. Manalo 2, B. Camacho 2
Mobil 64 – J. Maratita 11, L. Factor 11, G. Ruluked 10, B. Demapan 10, J. Estolas 7, P. Lizama 4, L. Sharry 4, E. Abuan 3, A. Fernando 2, J. De Guzman 2
Quarterscores: 18-18, 35-35, 54-53, 64-78
