Aces remain unscathed after surviving Elite

By Randolph B. Leongson

Alaska remained unbeaten in the 2016 Smart Bro PBA Philippine Cup, gutting out a hard fought 87-79 win against Blackwater on Friday at Mall of Asia Arena.

In contrast to their easy victory over Talk N’ Text last week, the Aces had to find their footing in the payoff period to stave off a determined rally from the Elite.

“Honestly, I didn’t like our form much today. I think we were fantastic against TNT. There’s just not an easy game in the PBA. Blackwater is an expansion team and they came to play, gave us more than what we wanted. I feel fortunate that we won this game,” said Alaska coach Alex Compton.

“Hopefully, the mistakes that we made, we will learn from it.”

A scathing third quarter run turned the tide for the sluggish Alaska squad before Vic Manuel found his form late in the game and secured the Aces the victory.

Chris Banchero led Alaska with 13 points while Manuel also had 13 markers, eight of which coming in the payoff period, alongside seven rebounds.

Tony dela Cruz finished with 11 points while JVee Casio got eight of his 10 points in that third quarter run to keep Alaska immaculate at 2-0.

JP Erram’s 13 points and eight rebounds paced the Elite, who fell to their second defeat of the season despite overall improvements in their performance.

The Scores:

ALASKA 87 – Banchero 13, Manuel 13, Dela Cruz 11, Casio 10, Abueva 7, Dela Rosa 7, Thoss 6, Hontiveros 5, Baclao 4, Baguio 4, Exciminiano 4, Jazul 2, Magat 1, Eman 0.
BLACKWATER 79 – Erram 13, Cervantes 11, Canada 10, Melano 10, Cortez 9, Reyes 7, Gamalinda 5, Ballesteros 4, Sena 4, Agovida 3, Golla 2, Lastimosa 1, Vosotros 0.

Quarters: 20-22, 41-48, 69-66, 87-79.

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