Ageless warrior Jeffrey Cariaso hit 11 of his 22 points in the final quarter and Fiesta Cup champion Alaska Milk finally nailed its first win in the 2007-08 Smart PBA Philippine Cup with a 98-94 decision over Coca-Cola last night at the Araneta Coliseum.
Cariaso, now in his 13th season in the league at 35, took charge for the Aces in the homestretch, banging away clutch baskets that carried the team to their first win in three starts in the two-week-old season.
Other Alaska veterans Mike Cortez, Willie Miller and Reynel Hugnatan had their contributions as the Aces ended their dry spell attributed to their struggle under the league’s newly adopted rules.
That’s something Alaska coach Tim Cone didn’t deny. "It’s pretty hard to win these days. The pace is so frenetic. The way the referees put the ball on the floor, nobody can organize. If I may say so, the game we’re playing is like high school basketball," said Cone.
"I’m just glad we've got one under our belt. Hopefully, we’ve got the monkey of our back and we build momentum on this win," Cone added.
Cone relied heavily on his veteran mainstays, wary his new recruits may not cope with the new rules.
"We’re trying to find time to get our rookies in. I’d love to get the guys on the floor and develop their confidence. But it’s difficult at this point. The new rules are extremes, these make us coaches look stupid," rued Cone.
First round draftees Ken Bono and JR Quinahan continued to play limited time and hardly factored as the Aces denied the Tigers a 2-0 start in the season.
Cariaso, Hugnatan, Cortez, Miller and Joachim Thoss each played at least 31 minutes, thus, accounting for the bulk of the team’s numbers.
Cariaso made five rebounds and four assists on top of his game-high 22 points, Hugnatan had a double-double game with 17 points and 16 rebounds, Cortez contributed 16 points and nine assists while Miller added 11 points, seven assists and five rebounds.
Ali Peek, John Arigo, Mark Telan, Ronjay Enrile, Ricky Calimag and rookie Ronjay Buenafe all put in double-digit outputs for the Tigers who were beaten by the Aces only in the closing seconds.
The Aces gained a big break when Buenafe committed a travelling violation with the Tigers down by two at 92-94 in the closing seconds.
Quickly fouled by Egay Echavez, Cariaso nailed two charities as the Aces all but settled the outcome of the game at 96-92. (Philippine STAR News Service)