ACES POISED TO CONTINUE RAMPAGE
At 5-0 and on top the standings in the PBA Philippine Cup, with one 41-point victory a grim reminder of the team’s explosive potential, Alaska Aces coach Alex Compton probably figured it was time to quash growing expectations.
Asked to remark on their spotless record during the post-game interview after they yawned past Kia Motors a few days ago, Compton, who took over from Luigi Trillo last conference, was brief.
“What it means is we’re not going to go 0-7 (in our remaining elimination round games), that’s all it means,” said Compton, who is nonetheless finding it increasingly difficult to deflect accolades and praises strewn their way in the wake of their impressive start, highlighted by that Halloween 105-64 rout of the Meralco Bolts.
The Aces are now poised to make it 6-0 unless the Blackwater Elite, who Alaska faces at 4:15 p.m. Friday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, can produce the same intensity the Kia Sorento came up with. Otherwise what it means is that Compton won’t go 0-6 the rest of the elims.
Alaska has dealt with some of the league’s howitzers with a delicate mixture of organized play ran at a frenetic pace, with Calvin Abueva, nicknamed “Tazmanian Devil” by Compton, right in the middle of it all.
The Elite could be sucked into Alaska’s dizzying brand of basketball if they don’t fight back somehow.
The Aces need this win to ward off encroaching Barangay Ginebra San Miguel (4-1) three weeks before their titanic clash at the Mall of Asia Arena. Blackwater, on the other hand, is gasping for air with five straight losses and has to get out of the cellar before it runs out of time.
The Elite have six more games to neutralize the effects of their disastrous loss to Manny Pacquiao and Kia Motors on opening day at the Philippine Arena, a defeat that could lead to their ouster in their debut conference where the two teams with the worst win-loss records after 11 games get booted out.
But the Aces can’t be expected to lower their defenses the way they did against Kia Sorento last Tuesday where they needed a flurry in the closing minutes to pull off an 85-75 win. Calvin Abueva had 23 points and 20 rebounds as a one-man wrecking crew in 37 minutes and was the unstoppable force that propelled Alaska.
Blackwater recently bowed to GlobalPort, 87-72, with the Elite leading in the first 12 minutes before getting routed in the third quarter. They missed 47 of 76 shots, took 11 less free throws and were hammered in rebounds, 49-39, by an opponent whose top rebounders that night were forward Mark Isip (12) and point guard Alex Cabagnot (11).
How they will defend the fortress once Abueva and Co. start storming the gates will be the Elite’s biggest nightmare.
Sonny Thoss, the Alaska center, missed the Kia game with a foot injury. How fast he has recovered in time to suit up against Blackwater is still uncertain. An early lead could afford Thoss more minutes on the bench resting. But if the Elite come out blazing and stay on fire for an extended period, then the 6-foot-9 slotman could be summoned back to active duty to snuff out the threat. (WJRHT)
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