ALASKA leaned on the comebacking Jeron Teng to finally break through the win column of the PBA Governors Cup after edging out skidding Rain or Shine, 78-71, Sunday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Teng scored eight of his 18 points in the fourth quarter and helped the Aces survived a gritty stand by the Elasto Painters.
The first game of Teng back from a hamstring injury stopped the bleeding for the Aces, who lost their first five games in the season-ending meet.
"Was it always this hard to get a win?," said Alaska coach Jeff Cariaso. "But seriously, I'm just happy to get the monkey off our backs."
Teng also added nine rebounds and two assists, the last one off an inbound pass to a driving JVee Casio that made it a 76-70 game for Alaska in the final 17 seconds.
The Aces also got plenty of help from import Franko House, who had monster numbers of 22 points and 23 rebounds while Vic Manuel and Simon Enciso finished with nine each.
It was another close loss for the Elasto Painters, who also had import Kayel Locke finishing in double figures with 25 points.
Rain or Shine trailed by as many as 12 late in the third, but managed to climb its way back and make a game out of it in the stretch run.
Locke scored inside with 47 seconds left to push the Elasto Painters within 70-74, only to be stymied by Teng's dish-off to Casio.
The Elasto Painters suffered their fourth straight loss for a 1-5 (win-loss) slate.
The scores
Alaska (78) - House 22, Teng 18, Enciso 9, Manuel 9, Banchero 7, Ayaay 6, Tratter 5, Casio 2, Thoss 0, Galliguez 0.
Rain or Shine (71) - Locke 25, Borboran 9, Daquioag 9, Nambatac 7, Ponferada 5, Rosales 5, Belga 5, Mocon 3, Torres 2, Onwubere 1, Exciminiano 0, Alejandro 0, Norwood 0.
Quarterscores:18-11; 40-35; 62-52; 78-71.
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