Barangay Ginebra head coach Jong Uichico observed that Mark Caguioa seems more comfortable when playing as a reserve. His veteran shooting guard proved him right.

Caguioa scored 20 points off the bench to pace the Kings to a 94-76 rout of the Alaska Aces in Game 2 of their quarterfinals series Wednesday at the Araneta Coliseum.

Willie Miller and Rudy Hatfield had 16 points apiece and Mike Cortez added 13 for the Kings, who
forced a deciding Game 3 this Saturday, Christmas Day. for the right to face San Miguel Beer in the semifinals of the 2010-11 PBA Philippine Cup.

“So now we have a shot,” said Uichico referring to the best-of-7 semifinals. “But the
atmosphere will be entirely different on Saturday because the stakes are much higher.”

The back-to-the-wall Kings controlled the game right from the start by aggressively attacking the basket and never allowing the Aces easy shots on the defensive end.

That the Kings completely outplayed the Aces was attested by the stat sheet -- Ginebra won the
battle of the boards (49-46), had 29 assists, 10 more than Alaska and enjoyed a 14-4 lead in
fastbreak points.

Barangay Ginebra also had a 10-2 advantage on second chance points while shooting 43.4 percent from the field against Alaska’s 38.2 clip.

“I guess they [Alaska] relaxed a bit. Good thing our game clicked,” Uichico said.

Hatfield also had 14 rebounds and barely missed a triple-double with eight assists.

The Kings pulled away in the third quarter by outscoring Alaska, 27-14. Miller accounted for two of
the team’s three 3-pointers and he and Caguioa had seven points a piece in the period, matching the output of the entire Aces squad.

The Aces, who swept the Kings in the semifinals of this conference last season and again won 3-2 in their best-of-5 quarterfinals in the Fiesta Conference, appeared to show Barangay Ginebra the door again when they took the series opener, 104-101 last Friday.

But Alaska seemed a different team in Game Two. The Aces looked slow in transition and didn’t
show the kind of energy they displayed in Game 1.

Sonny Thoss had 18 points and 10 rebounds to show the way for the Aces, who struggled offensively in the second half, making just 26 percent of their field goals.

It didn’t help that Cyrus Baguio was the only other Aces in double figure with 11 points even as
Joe Devance, who scored a career-high 30 points to spark Alaska’s win in the opener, managed just seven points on 3 of 9 shooting, the first time he failed to finish in double figures in scoring this conference.

The Kings opened a 16-6 lead midway in the opening quarter as the Aces missed 10 of their 16 shots.

Barangay Ginebra stayed in control in the second quarter but Alaska slowly battled back behind the timely shots of Bonbon Custodio, who scored all his eight points in the period as the Aces tied the count at 49-49 at the halftime break.

Two free throws by Tony Dela Cruz gave Alaska its only lead , 54-52, early in the third quarter
before Billy Mamaril and Hatfield scored two quick baskets that led to a 12-3 run and the Kings
never trailed again. (DBC)

The scores:

Barangay Ginebra 94 - Caguioa 20, Miller 16, Hatfield 16, Cortez 13, Tubid 11, Intal 6, Wilson 4,
Villanueva 4, Aquino 2, Mamaril 2, Wilson J. 0, De Ocampo 0.

Alaska 76 - Thoss 18, Baguio 11, Borboran 9, Dela Cruz 9, Custodio 8, Devance 7,Tenorio 6, Cablay
6, Hugnatan 2, Espiritu 0, Eman 0.

Quarterscores: 31-25, 49-49, 76-63, 94-76