>>just the way they wanted it to be<<

Alaska made sure that its plan for the outright semis berth won't be spoiled by Purefoods as it hacked out a crucial 69-60 victory Thursday night in the 2005 PBA Fiesta Conference at the Makati Coliseum.

Dickey Simpkins was at his best once more, finishing with a game-high 30 points to go along with his 18 rebounds as the Aces finished their classification round with an impressive 11-7 win-loss mark.They have a chance to advance in the best-of-five semifinal round early with a victory by FedEx to San Miguel Beer (10-7) tonight.

A loss by the Beermen and the victory by the league-leading Talk N Text (11-6) over Bgy. Ginebra would mean an outright semis slot for the wards of coach Tim Cone.

In case San Miguel wins and the Phone Pals loses to the Kings, a three-way tie for the top spot will emerge among them, resulting to a playoff by Talk N Text and Alaska for the No. 2 spot as San Miguel advances due to a higher quotient.

"We took care of business the way we're supposed to do. And we'll be rooting for FedEx tomorrow," said Cone who also drew 21 points from Jeffrey Cariaso.

"And now, the fate is not in our hands right now. We'll have to wait the results of the other two matches," Cone added.

Mike Cortez dished out an all-around game with 8 points, 6 rebounds and 8 assists while providing a crucial three-pointer when the TJ Hotdogs mounted a comeback.

Coming from a 19-point, 10-assist game against Talk N Text in the team's miraculous 85-84 win in the previous game, Cortez again saved the day for Alaska in this match.

Purefoods managed to come closer at 53-59 after falling as much as 15 points when the former La Salle standout buried a crucial three-pointer that sparked a decisive 7-0 run to pull the game away, 66-53, less than two minutes left in the game.

The 32-year old Simpkins had 20 of his total output in the second half, bucking a slow start by Alaska.

"He ran the floor well tonight," said Cone on his NBA veteran reinforcement. "Aside from controlling (Lorenzo) Coleman, he was also superb on offense."

But Aces chances still hinge on the San Miguel-FedEx game as the loss of the Beermen would guarantee them a slot in the semis, allowing Brandon Cablay to heal his injured left hand in time for the playoffs.
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