ACES, EXPRESS LOOK TO MOVE UP
A little more push in their last two games, and the Alaska Aces could have been among the early frontrunners in the PLDT myDSL PBA Philippine Cup.
This thought keeps the Aces in a good mood going to their match with the Air21 Express at 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
“I’m extremely proud of the way we’ve been playing. Our record is not a reflection of how we have been playing,” said Alaska coach Luigi Trillo.
The Aces are at 1-3, dropping close matches to the Energy Cola, 93-97, and to the Talk n Text Tropang Texters, 111-114 in overtime.
“Both were tough losses but I see progress in our games,” said Trillo.
The Aces are confident they would be back on the winning track after Wednesday’s game versus the Express.
Air21 is the only team yet to win a single game in the season, losing all its initial games to Barako Bull, GlobalPort, Meralco and San Mig Coffee.
“Alaska is a must-win game in order for us to be within striking distance (of the frontrunners),” said Air21 coach Franz Pumaren.
“We exerted much better defensive effort the last time. Hopefully, we continue to be aggressive defensively,” Pumaren also said.
Air21 pushed Governors’ Cup titlist San Mig Coffee to the limit before the latter prevailed, 92-83, in a double overtime struggle Sunday.
The Express faded away in the second OT with Asi Taulava and Vic Manuel already out on fouls.
Rookie Ian Sangalang scored eight of his 14 points when there’s no more Taulava to guard him and Mark Barroca attacked the lane bravely when the Fil-Tongan behemoth was no longer there as Air21’s last line of defense.
Severely punished by Sangalang and Barroca in the second OT, the Express went down with a fourth loss in as many outings.
The Express, with trade acquisition Mac Cardona finally in harness, took the early initiative, set the pace most of the way and had a chance to win the game in regulation while holding possession in the last five seconds.
In a timeout, Taulava requested coach Franz Pumaren for a play where he would seal his defender underneath the basket for the last shot. The Express, however, failed to execute the play, and the game went into OT at 69-all.
Air21 forced the second extra period as KG Canaleta made three pressure-packed charities with three-tenths of a second left. The slam-dunking forward went to the stripe for the game-tying freebies as he drew a foul from Rafi Reavis while taking a three-pointer.
The second OT had just started when Taulava was called for his sixth and last foul on Marc Pingris.
Worn-out and sans Taulava, Air21 faded away and was left as the only team without a single win in the tourney. (SB)
Subscribe to INQUIRER PLUS to get access to The Philippine Daily Inquirer & other 70+ titles, share up to 5 gadgets, listen to the news, download as early as 4am & share articles on social media. Call 896 6000.
