Hardly given a second look against a team built to win championships, Alaska now find itself seeking a commanding 3-1 lead in its PBA Fiesta Cup semifinals series with top seed Talk `N Text.

Their morale further boosted by a come-from-behind 90-86 win the last time around, the Aces are now looking to extend their domination of the powerhouse Tropang Texters by seeking an all-important win in Game 4 scheduled Wednesday at the Astrodome.

The Aces, seeded fourth going into the semis, lead the best-of-seven series, 2-1.

“Everyone thought that we were going to be blown out by Talk ‘N Text," said Alaska coach Tim Cone.

“We’ll need to continue to find a way and follow up our last win," he added. “Usually, the team that can win back-to-back in a series will win it."

L.A. Tenorio was mainly responsible for putting the Aces in this situation. Held to only two points, the pesky guard out of Ateneo suddenly exploded in the final minute of the tightly-fought match, scoring his team’s last seven points, including a game-turning three-pointer in the final 44 seconds that clinched for Alaska that Game 3 win.

Import Diamon Simpson was also a strength on both ends of the floor, finishing with 31 points and grabbing 20 rebounds as he outplayed Talk `N Text counterpart Shawn Daniels.

And going to Alaska’s liking is the two day rest they had in between Sunday’s match and Game 4.

“The good news is we had a couple of days to refresh and now we can play them on even terms," said Cone. “This is good basketball. We’re playing so hard and it’s great we’re staying out there and battling out there and giving ourselves opportunities.

Chot Reyes, the Talk `N Text coach, said the team’s failure to generate more production from Daniels hurt the Tropang Texters in Game 3 as the burly import finished with only four points and nine rebounds.

Discrepancy in free throw shots also told heavily on the top-seeded team. Reyes noted that the Aces took 34 free throws to the Tropang Texters’ 13.

“If we’re able to solve at least one of those, then we’ll have a chance in Game Four," he said.

Like Alaska, defending champion San Miguel also seeks a 3-1 lead over Derby Ace in the other half of the Final Four.

The Beermen rallied from a 17-point, first-half deficit to win Game 3 (74-70).

The game was hanging in the balance until Arwind Santos fired a pressure-packed three-pointer in the final 65 seconds to put the reigning champs on top for good, 73-70.

Despite the sorry setback, Derby Ace mentor Ryan Gregorio remains optimistic the Llamados will be able to pull this one off just like the way they did in the Philippine Cup when they rallied from a 1-2 series deficit in the semis to beat the same San Miguel team.

“We’re still upbeat about our chances. Game Four is crucial. We don’t want to be down 1-3," he said.

Source: RCJ, GMANews.TV