By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
THE Alaska Aces booked their second straight victory in the ongoing PBA Philippine Cup after pounding on the hapless Kia Picanto, 102-65, yesterday at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
Channeling a juggernaut on both ends of the court in the third quarter, Alaska, which opened the season-opening Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) conference with back-to-back losses, streaked to their second win and improved to 2-2.
Alaska took early command of the contest only to find Kia find its groove as the first quarter progressed to take the frame, 21-20.
The two teams struggled to get their offense going in the opening half of the second period, fighting to a 26-25 count with the Picanto holding a slim lead.
The nip-and-tuck affair continued thereafter until Alaska went on a 10-6 run in the last three minutes to take a 39-34 advantage heading into the halftime break.
Taking cue from their strong finish in the second quarter, the Aces continued to flow to start the third frame, going on a 9-0 blast to extend their lead to 48-34 at the 8:54 mark.
Kia tried to rally back but Calvin Abueva, rookie Jeron Teng and the rest of the Aces would stand their ground and establish a commanding 75-39 advantage at the end of third.
With the victory practically in the bag to begin the fourth quarter, Alaska gave their auxiliaries some floor minutes.
But the Aces showed no letup despite that, stretching their lead to 40 points, 86-46, with six minutes remaining on the clock.
Kia continued to fight but it proved to be just delaying the inevitable as it slumped to its fourth defeat in as many games.
Mr. Teng paced Alaska with 23 points with Carl Bryan Cruz adding 16.
Chris Bancero had 11 points while Mr. Abueva, Vic Manuel and Jake Pascual finished with 10 points each.
Rashawn McCarthy led Kia with 16 while Eric Camson had 15.
“It was defense that did it for us. I think we got our teeth back on defense and Kia missed some shots. I really appreciate the effort that the guys gave and hopefully we get to sustain that when we face the tough teams ahead,” said winning coach Alex Compton in the postgame press conference.
Alaska next plays the Barangay Ginebra San Miguel Kings on Jan. 21 while Kia takes on the Rain or Shine Elasto Painters on Jan. 20.
